Has Your Cheese Moved?

“Become a student of change. It is the only thing that will remain constant.” — Anthony J. D’Angelo

The pace of change is fast and accelerating. Change is happening everywhere - in personal finance, careers, business, and the global markets. Those that can not, will not, or choose not to change will experience the most difficulty. Here’s a book that inspires me to get through change as fast as I can.

Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, M.D. is a motivational book about dealing with change. The story is about two Littlepeople, Hem and Haw. Their daily job is to go through a maze, find the cheese and eat it. Every day, same routine, same route, same great cheese. No worries.

Then one day Hem and Haw travel their normal route and the cheese is not there. They experience the stages of loss – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance – as they decide what to do.

Denial – At first, Hem and Haw believe the lack of cheese is a mistake. “They” just forgot put the cheese out on this day. The cheese will come back. For the first few days, they return to their regular cheese station.

Anger – In the next stage, Hem becomes angry that the cheese is missing. “We’re entitled to our Cheese. We didn’t cause this problem.” To no avail, they chisel through a wall but find no cheese.

Bargaining – In the next phase, Hem hopes to bring back the previous situation. “Maybe we should sit here and see what happens. Sooner or later they have to bring the Cheese back,” says Hem.

Depression – In this phase, fear and despair set in. Hem says to Haw, “You’re not really going out in that maze again, are you? But what if there is no Cheese out there?”

Acceptance – This is finally accepting the change and taking steps to deal with the new situation. Haw tells Hem, “Sometimes things change and they are never the same again. ….Life moves on. And so should we.” With that, Haw goes out to the maze to search for more cheese. While fearful at first, Haw is steadfast in his determination and ultimately finds new and better cheese.

The stages are inevitable. The part I can control is the speed of passing through the stages. So when change strikes, I remember to be like Haw and quickly get going for the new cheese!!!

Photo Credit: morgueFile.com, Rosewitha Schacht

This is not financial or personal development advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2006 Achievement Catalyst, LLC