Transcription
Today I will summarize one of my favorite books, "Who Moved My Cheese?" an amazing way to deal with change in your work and life. The book uses a simple story to reveal the profound truth about change so that you can enjoy less stress and more success in your work and life. So let's get started.
Once Upon a Time, four characters lived in a maze: two mice called Sniff and Scurry, and two little people, Hem and Haw. These four characters were trying to find cheese in the maze. The mice are simpler creatures, therefore they search with a method of trial and error. They often run into a wall or dead-end street, but the goal is the same for them as for the little people, who try to find the cheese with a more complex approach and sometimes overanalyze things too much.
As the story goes, the two groups, mice and little people, are separated and trying to find their ways to the cheese in the maze. One day, both groups are lucky to find a big supply of cheese in the Cheese Station C. They enjoy it every day, and as they are happy and confident about the cheese supply, they come back to the station every day in the morning for their daily intake.
Once they create a daily routine around eating the cheese, the little people become arrogant and start to think that they are the kings of the maze. They were so confident with their supply of cheese that they decorated the wall with the saying, "Having cheese makes you happy."
But one day, the mice, Sniff and Scurry, arrived at the Cheese Station C and found out that there was no cheese left anymore. They weren't surprised by that, as they started noticing that the cheese supply was slowly decreasing during the last few days. So they were mentally prepared for this scenario. They didn't overthink this situation and knew that the only way to find a new supply was to go back to the maze and start searching. They learned the first lesson quickly: "Movement in a new direction helps you find new cheese."
Later that day, the little people arrived at the Cheese Station C as well. As they walked into the station, they could not believe their own eyes. Hem was so angry and disappointed that he screamed out loud, "Who Moved My Cheese?" Hem and Haw still could not believe what had just happened and were still wondering where the cheese could possibly be. They knew that they were way smarter than the mice, but they weren't behaving like that.
While the mice were already searching for a new cheese supply for quite some time, the little people were still stuck in the empty Cheese Station C. One night, Haw wrote on the wall of the empty station, "The more important cheese is to you, the more you want to hold on to it."
The next day, Hem and Haw expected the cheese to magically return to the Cheese Station C, but it wasn't there. While the little people were feeling sorry for each other and wanted things to be the same as they once had been, the mice were right on track to finding a new cheese. After a lot of trial and error, Sniff and Scurry stumbled on the biggest supply of cheese they had ever seen, the Cheese Station N.
Haw was the first one from the little people that decided that complaining in the empty Cheese Station C wouldn't solve anything and went into the maze. He told Hem, "If you do not change, you can become extinct."
At first, he was very afraid of the unknown parts of the maze because until now, he was comfortably living in one place. So he wrote on the wall of the maze, "What would you do if you weren't afraid?"
After a while of feeling lost, Haw finally picked up his courage and started running through the maze fearlessly. He discovered that searching for the new cheese and being in the maze wasn't as bad as he had thought. He stopped for a moment and wrote on the wall, "Smell the cheese often, so you know when it's getting old."
Hem wrote these signs on the wall so Hem could follow him if he chose to enter the maze as well and as a reminder of the lessons he learned. He continued to run through the maze and suddenly he felt free, even without the cheese, just searching for it. He stopped and wrote on the wall, "When you move beyond your fear, you feel free."
While searching for the new cheese, Haw imagined himself enjoying it even before finding it, so he got more motivation and continued to run through the maze. Finally, Haw arrived at a large cheese station, but unfortunately, it was nearly empty. He said to himself, "If I moved out sooner, I might have found a lot of new cheese here." He found some small pieces of cheese, but it was just enough for him to keep going. He decided that he must return to Hem to the Cheese Station C to tell him that there might be some new cheese just waiting around the corner.
When Haw returned to Hem to tell him that he might have found traces to a new supply of cheese, Hem was still depressed and sitting in the middle of the empty Cheese Station. He'd not even put on his running shoes. Hem said, "I'm not interested in new cheese. I want my old cheese back. I'm sure if I wait here long enough, things will be the way they were."
Haw said to himself, "Will Hem ever change?" and packed his things to search on his own. While on his track, Haw wrote on the wall, "When you change what you believe, you change what you do."
Haw found bits of cheese here and there and began to regain his strength and confidence. He also hoped that Hem could find his way by reading those handwritings on the walls. Haw let go of the past and was slowly but surely adapting to the present.
After a while of searching, it suddenly happened. Haw found the greatest supply of cheese he had ever seen, the Cheese Station N. At first, he could not believe his eyes, but it didn't take him long to finally start enjoying the new cheese. He also realized that he was not the only one in this station. Sniff and Scurry had also been enjoying the new cheese for quite a while there.
Haw promised himself that the next time he would change much faster. He knew that it would be easy for him to slip back to his old ways if he got too comfortable. So each day, he inspected the Cheese Station N to check the condition of his cheese. He even went out to the maze and explored new areas. He knew it was much safer to be aware of his real choices than to isolate himself in his comfort zone.
One day, Haw heard what he thought was the sound of movement out in the maze. Could it be Hem? Was Hem about to turn the corner? Haw hoped that at last, his friend was finally able to move to the new cheese and enjoy it.
In this story, we can all see ourselves. Hem and Haw represent the parts of us who try to find our path and be successful in life. The maze is a metaphor for whatever environment you're living in right now. Maybe your maze is finishing school, taking care of kids at home, or your 9-to-5 job. Whatever you're trying to achieve, you will face problems and changes in your maze, same as the mice and the little people did. Finally, the cheese in the maze refers to everybody's desire. Whether your cheese is a happy family, financial freedom, or running a successful business, each one of us runs through a maze and tries to find the cheese.
I personally took five lessons for myself from this book, and here they are:
Lesson number one: "The more important cheese is to you, the more you want to hold on to it." We humans don't like to go out of our comfort zone. Once we find a cheese that we like, we never want to let it go. It does not matter if it's a job, partner, or business opportunity. You might have given years of your life to a relationship, but your partner has decided to leave you. You feel terrible, and the idea of starting all over again with someone new seems unimaginable. But guess what? You have to move on. You have to look for a new cheese. Staying in the old cheese station and waiting for the cheese to return, analyzing where you made mistakes, or complaining why cheese is gone is not going to help. The fact is that the cheese is gone, and the sooner you let go of the old cheese, the sooner you will find new cheese.
Lesson number two: "If you don't change, you become extinct." There are many loyal and hardworking people who work for the same company in the same job for most of their lives, but one day they come to work and find out that they're fired because industry and technology have changed, and their services are no longer needed. They never anticipated that it would happen to them, so they didn't update their skills, and now the gap is so big that they're afraid to even try learning new things. Some try to catch up, but most give up.
Lesson number three: "Smell the cheese often, so you know when it's getting old." In the above example, the people who got fired forgot to smell their cheese regularly. If they anticipated the change and constantly checked how the industry was changing, they probably would have moved to a different job a long time ago. It does not matter what your job or business is right now; you should check it regularly and update your skills or products. You might have many clients and a healthy profit right now, but it can all change if you forget to smell your cheese regularly.
Lesson number four: "If I moved out sooner, I might have found a lot of new cheese here." I used to overanalyze things. I'm sure you know this feeling well. You want to do something new, and you have two or three options. You keep analyzing negatives and positives of each option. You try to imagine what will happen in every possible scenario. You read every single article and blog post about it. You discuss it with your friends, and one day you realize that 3 months have passed, and you're still analyzing. On the other hand, your competitors or your friends have moved on a long time ago and have even started to pick the fruits of their labor. You would be better off if you had made a choice and moved on fast. Here's the thing that many people don't realize when it comes to making a choice: if you can't decide between two options, it probably means that they're very similar, and the difference is minor. If the difference is minor, then why waste so much time on analyzing? Just pick one option that feels right and supported by data, and move on. You'll correct things along the way and reach the new cheese faster.
Lesson number five: "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" Fear is like an over-worried mother who wants you just to sit at home, eat your meal on time, and avoid doing sports because you might get hurt at some point. You need to say no to your mother and take control of your life, otherwise, you'll end up being a man-child who lives with the family at the age of 35. There are many beautiful things beyond fear if you can get past it. I know change looks scary at first, but it's not as scary as your mind makes it look like. Your mind is designed to look for dangers, not for opportunities. Always remember this.
Hope it was a helpful video. Thanks for watching.