Book Review: Who Moved My Cheese - Spencer Johnson

Who Moved my Cheese, a novel by Spencer Johnson, was published in 1998. I first read this book back in 2002 or 2003. It was given to a group of us in the small office I worked in. I remember learning some absolutely life changing lessons on dealing with and accepting the inevitable change in our lives. It’s no secret that during that period of my life I did not like change, but this book opened my eyes to the wonderful things that were just waiting to occur in my life, simply by my learning to deal positively with change, no matter how unexpected.

The book tells the story of Scurry and Sniff, (the mice), and Hem and Haw (the two miniature humans), and their adventures as they wind through a maze of rooms, some filled with cheese and some that are not. The book encouraged me to look for new and better opportunities for improving the quality of my life, not just when times are hard or when things are uncomfortable, but to seek them daily.

Below are a few of my favorite quotes from the book.

**Having cheese makes you happy.

**The more important your cheese is to you,

        the more you want to hold on to it. 

**If you do not change, you can become

        extinct.  

**What would you do if you weren’t afraid?  
**Smell the cheese often so you know when it

         is getting old.  
**Movement in a new direction helps you find

        new cheese.  
**Imagining myself enjoying new cheese even

        before I find it, leads me to it.  
**The quicker you let go of old cheese, the

        sooner you find new cheese.  
**Old beliefs do not lead you to new cheese.  
**Noticing small changes early helps you 

       adapt to the bigger changes that are to

       come.

One of my favorite parts of the book is an illustration on page 74 titled, “The Handwriting on The Wall”. This is a summary of the lessons learned from the book. Below are a few of my favorite summary points listed as the "handwriting on the wall".

**Change Happens: They keep moving the
         cheese
**Anticipate Change: Get ready for the cheese 
         to move
**Monitor Change: Smell the cheese often so 
         you know when it is getting old
**Adapt to Change Quickly: The quicker you 
         let go of old cheese, the sooner you can 
         enjoy new cheese
**Change: Move with the cheese
**Enjoy Change: Savor the adventure and 
         enjoy the taste of new cheese
**Be ready to Change Quickly and Enjoy it 
        Again and Again: They keep moving the 
        cheese

Some criticism was given to managers and corporate executives who mass distributed the books to employees as a way to get the employees to agree with or get on board with changes at work, such as cutting hours or other things to the detriment of the employee, in an effort to get the employees to see the change as positive, and good for the whole team overall, even when it was not.

For me though, it was and will always be one of the best lessons I could have ever had in dealing with the changes in life, the inevitable changes, good or bad. The creative way in which the author chose to give this much needed advice to those who struggle with reacting negatively to change, made this an enjoyable and easy read.