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Exploring the Book Who Moved My Cheese?
The book Who Moved My Cheese? is perhaps one of the most revealing books in relation to change, especially in personal career progression and finance. In my case, the book provided a compelling reason why I should be dynamic and expect any circumstance in my journey towards career progress. The story presents the process of facing change and the different ways that people respond to change. In my situation, the book provides a strong analogy of the changes that I expect and how I should deal with them. In the text, Spencer further provides the ways that I should not deal with change. The discussion of the book will reveal what cheese and the maze represent and analysis of the characters as they relate to my personal life.
In the book, the cheese takes an historical representation of the opportunities that people have utilized over time. The cheese symbolically represented the daily source of livelihood for people since the historical times. In the book, the cheese is the only source of livelihood for all the characters. The characters are Sniff and Scurry, Hem or Haw (Johnson, 1998). The four of them all depend on the cheese as the source of livelihood. This historically represents the sources of income that people depend on as the sole source of livelihood. Particularly, the cheese represents employment, because it is the main source of income for most people in the word. This is because cheese provides food for the daily life, which is the same as the employment in the real world.
In my personal life, the cheese represents employment as the main source of income. This practically means that employment is the main source of livelihood as the income from employment solely translates to financing my expenses. In this regard, I see the cheese representing the employment opportunities that are available to me. According to me, employment forms a strong part of my annual income and monthly source of income. Throughout the text, Spencer represents cheese as the basic food that the four characters depend on. In this view, cheese represents the common and regular sources of income in my life, with employment topping the list.
On the other hand, the maze represents the life of uncertainty. Historically, the economic situation that surrounds people in the world has always been uncertain. The economic situation of the past economies and the current economy are uncertain because the future is not guaranteed in terms of the income and the sources of income. The opportunities in life have always been limited, while the financial responsibilities in life have been unlimited. As a result, the guarantee for a future income that sufficiently meets these needs is not possible. This way, the uncertainty relates to the uncertainty that is experienced in a maze, where no one knows where the location of what he or she wants.
In my personal life, the maze represents the uncertainty of my economic sources of income. This uncertainty is associated with the future progression of my career and the expected opportunities. The maze represents the different employment opportunities and the companies that offer them. As a result of the uncertain future, my financial life looks like a maze, as I keep looking for better opportunities. These opportunities are represented as locations of various employment opportunities that I am seeking in my future life. The uncertainty of getting these in opportunities is what is represented by the maze in Spencer’s analogy.
While the maze represents the uncertain locations of opportunities, it also represents the career progression, as each stage in life is marked by different type of opportunities. In this regard, the book talks about new cheese. This new cheese is located in a location of the cheese that is not the same as the one the four characters are used to. Therefore, all the unknown opportunities in my life are the locations of the maze represented by the text.
The character that I relate to from the text is Haw. I identify with Haw because I am a little indecisive, yet I am good at noticing situations that require change. While I admit that I am not quick to change, I prefer to take risks when I determine that they are worth taking, and that I am ready to take the cost involved. In the employment life, I determine which the best opportunities of the future are and why they are better than the current, before taking the courage to shift position.
It is honest to admit that I am tempted to remain comfortable with the current situation, just like Haw was in the text. While many people may be quick to state that they relate to Sniff and Scurry, it is important to note the real situation that opens to the indecisiveness in the text. In the text, Haw is initially indecisive and is affected by the reliance on the old cheese station C (Johnson, 1998). The continued reliance on the cheese station C makes both Hem and Haw find comfort with the constant supply.
The comfort of the current situation is what gives people the aspect of indecisiveness. On the other hand, those people who are decisive are able notice the need for change and prepare themselves, just like Sniff and Scurry. While these are two characters, they represent the same frame of mind, thereby form in a single character of the text.
If I was not afraid, I would take risks that are not only necessary, but also calculated based on the current situations. I would make decisions to embrace change, even before the necessity of change appears. Unlike Sniff and Scurry, I would also go a step further to make change decisions, not based on the past observations.
A significant aspect of life that I would appreciate is the small changes. To be successful in the change process, I will keenly observe the small changes as they happen and deduce the expected change that they represent. The small changes are the key indicators of the big change if only I will be keen to interpret their significance. What makes me feel that Sniff and Scurry are excellent teachers of noticing small changes, is the way they were able to determine that cheese was absent because of the result of the small, dwindling supply that has been taking place at the cheese station C (Johnson, 1998).
In conclusion, the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” gives a clear analogy of how change affects our life and offers important lessons on how to prepare for it. In my life, the cheese represents the economic opportunities that I expect in the professional life, while the maze represents the uncertain environment. Despite being indecisive sometimes, I notice the moment that calls for change, and makes the right decision to accept change. While change is inevitable, we should notice the small changes so that we will be ready for the big changes in life.
References
Johnson, S. (1998). Who moved my cheese? New York: Putnam Adult