Have you ever had that slap-in-the-face moment? A time you realized the person in the mirror needed to make some changes? I had one several years ago at a Rotary Club meeting where a friend was leading the program. He presented a short video, which was an interesting, 12-minute cartoon. As I watched, I said to myself, “This is the story of my life,” so I paid attention to the message. The program was based on the book Who Moved My Cheese? — An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life, written by Spencer Johnson, M.D., the co-author of The One Minute Manager series.
At the time, I was at a point where I needed to make changes in my life. I had become complacent in many areas and needed to kick-start several things to get back on track. But change wasn’t a comfortable word in my vocabulary then. In fact, change isn’t an easy thing for many of us. We tend to not like change, and most of the time we resist it. Sound like anybody you know? I bought the video — and the book, too — and watched it several times. I’ve since given many copies of both to friends, and they remain one my most recommended resources.
Who Moved My Cheese? is a simple little parable that helps reveal the profound truth about change. It’s an amusing and enlightening account of four individuals living in a maze and their quests for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. Two are mice named Sniff and Scurry, and two are little people named Hem and Haw. The cheese is a metaphor for what we want in life — careers, loving relationships, money, health, and spiritual peace of mind. The maze is where we look — our workplaces, families, and communities. In the story, the characters face many unexpected changes. Finally, one of them deals with it successfully and explains what he has learned from the experience by writing
on the walls of the maze. You can view the video on YouTube, which I highly recommend.
From this book, I’ve learned to accept that change happens; there’s nothing we can do to avoid it. We need to anticipate change and prepare for it. We also must monitor change — smell the cheese often enough, so we know when it’s getting old. Then we have to adapt to change quickly because the sooner we let go of the old cheese, the sooner we can enjoy the new cheese. We must continue changing and learn to move with the cheese and enjoy change, savoring the adventure and taste of new cheese. Finally, we must be ready to change quickly again and again because the cheese keeps moving.
I still find myself resisting change from time to time, but I remind myself I don’t want to end up like Hem and Haw in the story. I need to stay focused, looking for new cheese like Sniff and Scurry. pmp
You can reach Johnson, a past president of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and current president of Sevierville, Tenn.-based Johnson Pest Control, at ray@johnsonpestcontrol.com.
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