Who Moved YOUR Cheese? Making Changes Work For You

These days, so many of us are dealing with an enormous amount of change. Sometimes it takes a simple little shift in our perception to help make sense of it, learn from it, and even prosper. Change comes in many forms and affects many facets of our lives. Relationships change, people change, circumstances change.

 

I’ve watched a lot of people over the past few years, myself included, change careers. Some by force due to the economy, some by choice because of dissatisfaction with their current work situation, boss, co-workers, personal finances, etc. If you have a family and people who depend on your financial support, it can be a particularly scary time.

 

For me, the whole idea of “change”, the transition to something that would change everything about my daily doings was flat overwhelming. I lost sleep for months, worrying about all the “what-if’s”, and they tended to be of the “what-if-it-doesn’t-work” variety. (As a Libra, I’m all about balance, so any change that upsets my equilibrium can be troublesome.)

 

I spent a lot of time preparing to become a home-business entrepreneur by reading and researching. I remembered a book I’d read 10 years earlier called “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson, M.D. (Co-author of The One Minute Manager) Originally my husband brought it home from a business workshop where it was used for training purposes. He really enjoyed the workshop and thought I would enjoy the book.

"Who Moved My Cheese?" Is the story of four characters, Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw who live in a "Maze". They face unexpected change when they discover their "Cheese" has disappeared. Someone has moved it without their knowledge. Everything they've come to rely on is now gone.

 

 

As the story unfolds, the reader learns how people adapt differently to change (or not). Some sniff around for new opportunities. Some scurry after those opportunities. Some hem and haw, rooted by fear and unable to move, and some learn to laugh at their fears and go looking for New Cheese.

 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had somebody "move my cheese" and it's scary. The lessons in this book hit home with my family. This book was instrumental in framing my perspective on adapting to change. It was worth the re-read because it reminded me that I have choices. It reminded me to be open to possibilities and to notice the writing on the wall, and it reminded me that I can be an agent of change.

 

If you’re considering making a change in a job, or a career, or a relationship...anything, lean into it. Think about the chances that you’re missing by hanging out with old missed chances. You cannot use what worked yesterday. We are in a constant state of change and the sooner we embrace it, we can make change work for us.

 

What kinds of changes have you been dealing with?

 

 

If you liked this article or found it to be helpful, I’d love to hear about it - leave me a comment below. As always, please feel free to share a link to this article using one of the buttons below.

 

 

 

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