So far, one very salient lesson life has taught me is that the only thing constant is change itself. Oftentimes, our response to change no matter how sudden it comes will set us apart. We find that we either drown in the uncertainty it brings or generate creative ways to adapt to it.
One inevitable certainty is that unexpected changes will happen to you, in ways that may shake you to your bones. How do you react to them?
The inspiration behind today’s post is a book my father gave me some time ago. “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson is one that teaches some great life lessons using simple illustrations. I had to recommend and share it with my friends.
I’ll summarize the book because the characters depicted in the book (Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw) depict people’s response to change.
Four characters ran through a maze looking for cheese. Sniff and Scurry were two mice, while Hem and Haw were called little beings who behaved like human beings. They all soon found cheese at a point in the maze called Station C.
Now while Sniff and Scurry maintained their mouse-like routine of sniffing and scurrying around the station to inspect it for changes before eating the cheese, Hem and Haw set their homes close to the cheese and grew comfortable because it existed in large quantities.
After a while, the cheese ran out. Of course, Sniff and Scurry were ready for that, and so they sniffed and scurried in search of new cheese. On the other hand, Hem yelled at how unfair life was while Haw looked on in disbelief, not ready to deal with the issue facing them – losing the cheese.
Finally, the mice found new cheese at Cheese Station N while Hem and Haw still argued on, blaming each other at Cheese Station C, afraid to move out in search of new cheese. These little people continued to hope that the cheese would magically appear again while getting thinner and thinner every day.
Haw, after unsuccessful attempts to convince Hem to leave with him, finally decided to brace up and face his fear. He believed in “better late than never” as he slowly made his way into the unknown.
More importantly, Haw realized that there was always new cheese out there whether you realized it or not, and you will only be rewarded when you get past your fear. And he was rewarded when he came across Cheese Station N. I can only hope that Hem changed his mind and got out of Cheese Station C because your old cheese can never be your only cheese.
In this story, cheese is a metaphor that represents what you want to have, your goals and aspirations, those things that drive you to wake up every morning fighting. Your cheese could be a good job, money, security, among others. On the other hand, the maze is where you look for what you want, like, the organization you work in, family, among others.
We will do better when we adjust to changes quickly. Are you a Sniff that sniffs out the situation early to see changes early? Or are you a Scurry that scurries into action immediately? Are you a Hem that loves to linger in familiar territory, afraid of change? Or are you a Haw that acknowledges when he is wrong, laughs at himself, and pushes himself to do better?
Well, what do I know? I cannot answer that for you. Only you can tell! If you haven’t read the book, I think you should get a copy immediately. You won’t be disappointed.
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Love,
Diane
