I’ll admit, I read this book because it’s a quick, easy read and I was short on time. But what it lacks in length it makes up for in depth! All it took was an hour of reading and my life is changed. I am thrilled.
Although it’s been decades since this book was published, it remains a classic and for good reason. I had heard of it before, but for some reason didn’t pick it up until this week. The wonderful thing about it is that it will be useful again and again! I’m sure if I take an afternoon a few years from now to read it again, it will apply in a whole new way, depending on the new situations I find myself in at that time.
What I liked about Who Moved My Cheese
First of all, like I said, it’s short. I read it in one afternoon, even while taking care of two kids. Even if you just stick it in the bathroom to read while you do your business, you’ll be able to finish it in a week.
Second, it’s in the format of a parable – a short story meant to apply to real life situations. I love this because it’s simple, easy to understand, easy to not take things personally since it’s not directly calling you out, funny, and directly applicable.
I also loved what a great topic of conversation it provides. I was able to talk with some family members about it after I finished it and we all gained a lot from sharing insights about the things the book brings up.
The Story
The parable is about 4 main characters, meant to represent different parts of ourselves. Two of the characters are mice named Sniff and Scurry. Two are “Littlepeople” who are the size of mice, but act like people. Their names are Hem and Haw. All four characters live in a maze and they search for cheese.
The cheese represents the things we search for to make us happy, such as career, money, relationships, hobbies, etc. The maze represents where we go looking for those things, such as work, in our community, etc.
The point of the story is to illustrate how to address the change that inevitably happens in each of our lives at various times. After comfortably living with plenty of cheese for quite some time, the four characters wake up one day to find there is no cheese in their usual spot.
Each of the four characters then decides how to react. The two mice had been expecting this to happen, since they noticed the cheese supply shrinking. They quickly put their shoes on and went out into the maze to search for new cheese.
The two Littlepeople, on the other hand, were shocked. They had grown comfortable, assuming the cheese would always be there, and even feeling entitled to it, as if they deserved it. They struggled for quite some time, waiting around, trying to figure out what happened, and feeling as though they had received an injustice.
Eventually one of the Littlepeople, Haw, realizes they are being silly to sit there and wallow in self pity. He decides to venture out into the maze again in search of new cheese. Along the way he writes things he is learning on the maze walls so he can remember them, and hopefully so Hem will follow.
Haw eventually finds his old mice friends and the abundance of new cheese they had found. There was more cheese than Haw had ever seen and it tasted even better than he had ever experienced.
Main Takeaways
The story is simple, but seriously helped me recognize the errors in my thinking and how I have been so much like Hem in many ways.
First of all, one of the main points is that the cheese is going to move. There is no getting around that. We all like to think that once we have XYZ we’ll be all set and things will be smooth sailing. However, even if we did work hard to collect an abundance of cheese (money, house, happy marriage, whatever it is we want), things just change. That’s part of life.
Just accepting that truth can really help. For me, it was all too relevant. I have been anticipating some company changes for the last couple months, but am still unaware of how they will affect me. For a while, I was thinking about it almost daily – dreading it, trying to avoid it, trying to make sure things stay the same for me. However, realizing that things do change and I just can’t avoid it, was very helpful! Instead of trying to avoid it, I can determine my attitude going in.
Along with that, Haw explicitly points out how his fear of the change is what made the change worse than it needed to be. He was so afraid, he refused to even acknowledge it had happened for a while. Once he was able to let go of fear and recognize that the cheese had moved, he was able to free himself up to go back out into the maze.
But, as he stepped out into the maze again, he felt more fear. Things were different! He didn’t know which direction would lead to where! Ah! He decided to just move in a direction and see what happened. He found some dead ends and he found some bits of cheese along the way. But he didn’t need to be afraid of it. He just needed to carry on, continuing to search for new cheese.
So, that’s exactly what I did with my situation. I realized I’ve been afraid of change! First of all, I don’t even know if/what things will change for me. But even if things stay the same for a while longer, at some point in the future, things will change. That’s just what happens. After reading Haw’s perspective, I decided I don’t need to be afraid. I can trust that I will be able to adapt to changes. My life may not look the same, but I am free to go off in search of new cheese!
Which brings me to the other main takeaway I loved from the book. There is a point where Haw goes back to Hem to show him some of the new cheese he has found. Haw refuses to try it because he thinks he probably won’t like it. He would rather just wait here where their cheese used to be and hope it turns up again one of these days. Hem was so stuck on keeping things the way they were because he had been happy! That way was working! Why did it have to get taken away?? He was completely blind to the fact that there was more cheese out there that tasted even better than the cheese he was used to!
Trusting that change can lead to better things makes it easier to let go of the fear. Yes, I am comfortable and happy with things as they are now, but things will change. I don’t need to be afraid because I can find comfort and happiness in a new situation, too. It’s all going to be okay.
In Conclusion
Like I said, it’s a great book. Very quick and easy and I would highly recommend you sacrifice a little Facebook time this weekend and give it a go. The author also offers a cheesy little discussion section where people discuss what they got out of the story. Even that part had helpful insights!
If you’ve already read it but it’s been a while, maybe read it again! See how it helps you in your current life situation.
Let me know your thoughts!
I read the hardcover book, but I just discovered this pdf version if you want to read for free right now! Who Moved My Cheese.pdf – Google Drive
