2022 Book Report #7 - Who Moved My Cheese (Spencer Johnson, MD)
7/12 - Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, MD)
An "A-Mazing" Way to Deal with Change -- in Your Work and in Your Life
This a QUICK read, which focuses on a short story about dealing with change. It involves four characters (Sniff and Scurry -- and Hem and Haw).
It revolves around how each character reacts when an unexpected “change” in circumstances deprives them of the cheese that they loved.
Sniff represents someone who sniffs out change early.
Scurry represents someone who scurries into action.
Hem represents someone who fears and denies change.
Haw represents someone who learns to adapt in time when he sees change can lead to something better.
The story gives us many key learnings that I'd like to share here:
1. If you do not change, you can become extinct
2. What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
3. Smell the cheese often so you know when it’s getting old
4. Movement in a new direction helps you find new cheese
5. When you move beyond your fear, you feel free
6. Imagining myself enjoying new cheese even before I find it, leads me to it
7. The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese
8. It is safer to search in the maze than remain in a cheese-less situation
9. Old beliefs do not lead you to new cheese
10. When you see that you can find and enjoy new cheese, you can change course
11. Noticing small changes early helps you adapt to the bigger changes that are to come
12. Move with the cheese and enjoy it
A few final thoughts:
Haw now realized that the change probably would not have taken him by surprise if he had been watching what was happening all along and if had anticipated change
The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists
Haw now realized that his new beliefs were encouraging new behaviors
You can believe that a change will harm you and resist it -- or you can believe that finding New Cheese will help you to embrace the change
The Handwriting on the Wall...
Other “book reports” from 2022:
