“Who Moved My Cheese?” is a business bestseller written by Dr. Spencer Johnson. This book teaches you to deal with the changes around you. We regularly face changes in our personal lives as well as in our workplace. These changes are not always pleasant. We tend to hold on to the things we previously had and refuse to accept the new changes happening. Our hold on our comfort zone hinders our growth and our exploring capacity.
In the book, the story is written as a parable. It is about two little people and two mice who live in a maze. In the story, a group of high school classmates met at a reunion and started discussing the challenges they face regarding the changes around them. One of the friends starts to describe his issues with a story of two mice and two little people and the changes happening in their lives.
In the story, the two mice and the two little people live in a maze. They roam around the maze in search of cheese. Both of them found a specific type of cheese they liked in a place named Cheese Station C. After finding the cheese station, the little people stopped exploring the maze and kept only going to that specific station. But the two mice kept exploring the maze. After a certain period, the cheese in that particular station is exhausted. The mice found another cheese station called Cheese Station N, where there were several different kinds of cheese. But the little people decided not to leave station C; they kept waiting and wondering where the cheese and the mice would go.
After a certain time, one of the little people decided to leave the station and explore the maze, and the other refused to leave. At the same time, exploring the maze, one little person found new paths and eventually found the station with loads of different cheese. He did not stop exploring, though. He kept exploring the maze, and he kept leaving his experiences in the walls of the maze. He kept waiting patiently for his partner to come exploring.
In our lives and workplaces, we regularly face changes. Most of us are not comfortable accepting changes. Sometimes, we are so into our comfort zone that we just forget to look around and search for opportunities. The story of this book enlightens me about exploring new things and new paths. In our lives, sometimes we feel contained in what we have, which is good in a sense. But if we think about the greater picture, it is that the purpose of our lives is to explore and learn about new things.
If we think about our workplace, then it is obvious that we have to go through a lot of changes. Our work dynamics and workplace environment are changing continuously. If we hold on to the thought of who moved my cheese, we will end up waiting and not coming to a conclusion about the changes.
Our lives are dynamic, as are the changes around us. It is easier for us to cope with the changes if we accept them and explore ways for solutions. Even in our personal lives, sometimes we are uncomfortable letting go of the past and accepting the change. This attitude leads us to a point where we end up even losing our present and the opportunities we could have in the future.
From the learning of the book, we will be able to deal with the changes around us.
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Writer
Zabin Tasmin
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE