The magic of “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Dr. Spencer Johnson is it’s simplicity. I have been trying to read more and more this year, but somehow things always get busy. But this is a quick and easy read for my first of periodic book reviews. One reason I decided to start with this book, well, let’s be honest, because I’ve had it for a few years and it has just been sitting on a shelf collecting dust. But since it is short, I also knew it would be a quick read and I wanted to set myself up for success!
I have found that some of the so called personal development books can be more complicated. However, Who Moved My Cheese, was written so I could catch onto the theme pretty quickly. The focus of the book is on learning to overcome fear, handling changes, and finding a way to realize your dreams. The book has four characters (Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw). They live in a maze and they travel through the maze looking for cheese. As they go along their journey, they learn that their journey isn’t just about finding the cheese.
My 4 key takeaways from “Who Moved My Cheese?”
#1 – Don’t get complacent, situations can change in an instant, so be prepared.
When you expect things to remain the same, you can miss signs that things are changing. Instead, if you keep your eyes open for change, you are able to adapt as the change happens. When you are prepared for a change, you can save yourself a great deal of stress. (And who doesn’t want less stress in their life?!)
#2 – Fear can keep you from acting, but visualizing your goals can help you push through.
Many of us don’t like change due to fear. Fear can keep you from action. However, by visualizing yourself reaching your goals and moving with the change, your fear can be kept at bay and will no longer hold you back. Yes, there will be moments when you don’t want to move forward but that goal you are visualizing is too great to not keeping moving forward. Once you conquer your fear one time, it will be easier to conquer your fear the next time and the next.
#3 – Don’t be stuck in one place. Move in a different direction and things will get better.
Sometimes we get stuck in our ways and don’t know what to do to help facilitate change. Often, it takes just moving in a slightly different direction and changing up your daily to routine for your situation to improve. So, when you get stuck, just try something different, anything and see how it works out. As we continue to conquer our fear, our confidence grows and life is just better when we are no longer dominated by our fears.
What goals are you looking to accomplish?
When you read the book for yourself, who are you: Sniff, Scurry, Hem or Haw?
