Saturday, February 25, 2012

Got Cheese?

Recently, in one of my classes at K-State, we were asked to read the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” Now, I’ll admit, I had no idea what this book would be about, and honestly didn’t expect much. However, what I found as a read through the pages was a pretty cool perspective on change and dealing with change.

The storyline looks something like this.

There were four mice, named Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw. These mice spent their time in a maze, looking for their own, personal cheese, or what they believed would make them happiest. One day, the four found a corridor in the maze that provided all of their types of cheeses. They made a routine of coming to that particular corridor until it was completely depleted of cheese.

Sniff, who had a tendency to discover when things were about to change before it actually happened, was prepared. So, he and Scurry, who has a talent for reacting to change in a positive way and taking action, set out to search the maze for more cheese. However, Hem was not comfortable with change, so he chose to stay in the corridor to wait and see if more cheese appeared where it was previously. Haw remained with Hem for a while, because he had a tendency to wait and not address change until absolutely necessary. Meanwhile, Sniff and Scurry were successful in finding a new corridor with even more cheese than the first. Eventually, Haw, who was unsuccessful in changing Hem’s mind, faced his initial uncertainties and set out for more cheese. He too found the new corridor of cheese. He returned to the first corridor to invite Hem to come along, but Hem insisted that he did not want to experience any cheese that was different than that of which he was already used to.

We can learn so much from this book!

Which character are we most like? Are we like Hem, who insists on having familiarity and routine and cannot seem to adapt to change when it occurs? Or, maybe we’re like Haw, who might like the routine and familiarity, but will eventually adapt to change when necessary. Or, are we like Scurry, who reacts to the change by taking action and making the most of the situation, or Sniff, who actually sees the change coming and is prepared to make it a positive outcome long before it occurs?

What is our “cheese?” What is it that is most important to us, that motivates us to succeed the most?

Finally, how do we react when something changes? Do we give up, or continue to pursue what is most important to us?

“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” –Mary Engelbreit