THEY KEEP MOVING THE CHEESE


 



“Movement in a new direction helps you find 
new cheese.”

From the book ‘Who Moved My Cheese’



“If you do not change, you become extinct.” This was the thought, that, finally, pushed Haw out of his ‘Entitlement mindset’ and walk into the ‘Maze of uncertainty’ in search of a new ‘Cheese Station’. One morning, when he and his friend Hem – the Littlepeople – woke up, they were shocked: There wasn’t any cheese left! They were so used to getting their cheese in this Cheese Station, that they had expected it to be there as their right… They felt strongly, that the cheese was their entitlement. So, they asked angrily: “Who Moved my Cheese?”

Denial… Blame… Not fair… Anger!

Hem and Haw, the Littlepeople, wanted whoever responsible for moving their cheese to put it back at their Cheese Station… “You better did!”

But, then, ‘Who moved their Cheese?”

Meanwhile, a little earlier that morning, two other friends, Sniff and Scurry, the little mice, too, had faced the same reality at the same Cheese Station… The tiny scraps of Cheese, which they always fed themselves on at this Cheese Station, were gone! Yes, the Cheese Station was empty! But, unlike the Littlepeople – Hem and Haw – these two little mice had sensed the cheese getting slowly dwindled at this Cheese Station; and, now, when it was gone, they quickly decided to go out in search of a new Cheese Station…

“That’s the way it is!” Apparently, the little mice understood the old truth – ‘In Life, change is the only constant’ – much before the Littlepeople did… They were the ones who left ‘the Handwriting on the Wall’ much before Haw did!


Dr. Spencer Johnson’s little book – ‘Who Moved My Cheese?” seems incredibly relevant in today’s uncertain times… What a timeless fable it is! What a metaphor!

I remember that afternoon, sometime in 1998. Bhushan, a dear old-student of mine, had suddenly appeared in my office just to gift me a copy of ‘Who Moved My Cheese’. Till then, I hadn’t heard about this book. He was so moved by the book, that he had his office walls painted with all ‘the Handwriting of Haw’! There was a blinding light beaming from his eyes as he proudly showed me the pictures of his office walls. I learnt, that he had gifted dozens of copies of this book to his friends and well-wishers. I happened to be one of the lucky recipients!

I am not sure, if many of the Millennials have read ‘Who Moved My Cheese?”. This is such a little book, that can be finished reading in thirty minutes flat… Perhaps, in even lesser time.  Maybe, we all – not just the Millennials – need to read it today… as we find ourselves asking, in our empty Cheese Station, the same question: “Who Moved My Cheese?”

Haw did not leave behind his 'Handwriting on the Wall' for his friend Hem alone… He left it behind for all of us…

‘Change happens: They keep moving the Cheese’…

‘Anticipate change: Get ready for the cheese to move’…

“Adapt to change quickly: The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese’…

And, this: ‘If you do not change, you become extinct’!



GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: VisionPic.net

                                                   

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