The book entitled “Who moved my cheese” is one of the best motivational books of the 20th century. The book raises the issue of change and its place in a person’s everyday life. Faced with unexpected events, people tend to panic and stick to once fruitful course of action when it is more productive to embark on a new course. Fears may keep people from doing things; on the other hand, fears prompt them into action that will ultimately lead to success. This paper hypothesizes that the book is instrumental in helping people cope with change and provides a guideline on how to accept development and innovation. Showing the options people have, the author provides examples of how these options may form people’s lives.
The issue of change plays a central part in “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Johnson. Painting a picture of mice in a maze who seek cheese the author draws parallels with people’s lives where each person aims to achieve his or her goals. The cheese in the book represents wealth, money, power, love or any other goal a person wants to achieve. Thus, Johnson says, “For some, finding Cheese was having material things. For others it was enjoying good health, or developing a spiritual sense of well-being” (p. 2). When the mice begin to run out of cheese, they change course to find a new piece. The author wants to say that it is important to accept the situation and look for other ways to achieve one’s goals.
To embrace a new situation – finding a new piece of cheese – a person needs to change course. It may be no easier matter as many people are averse to changes and like to have an established order of things. The author shows how mice wait for the old cheeses to be put back before they finally realize that it is just not going to happen. Johnson writes “We should just sit here and see what happens. Sooner or later they have to put the Cheese back” (p. 7). After a period of doubts and frustration the mice start running through the maze again, the fact that allows them to find new cheese. Thus, Johnson shows that when the situation changes the people’s behaviour and course of action should also change to let them be successful.
Often, fears stand in the way of embarking on a new way of action. On the other hand, fears may be instrumental in bringing about changes, as the fear of losing everything through inaction may be greater that the fear of the unknown. Once adopting a new course of action, a person should stop worrying and trust his choice to lead him or her to success. Johnson writes, “When you move beyond your fear, you feel free” (p. 12). Thus, it is essential to pull oneself together and stop panicking no matter how bad the situation seems. Calmness and trust in one’s choice are among the main components of success.
The book “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Johnson features the key components of success, among which are acceptance of the situation, letting go of old routine and embarking on a new course of action. Fears that initially serve to propel people into action should later be transformed into trust into one’s choice and confidence that a person is on the right way. Through the portrayal of mice in the labyrinth the author gives readers to think over what factors drive some people to be successful and how they can be used in people’s everyday life.
Work Cited
Johnson, Spencer. Who moved my cheese. Random House, 2015.