Who-move-my-cheese

Who Moved My Cheese

Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson is yet another classic reminder on the importance of change and how it can help us lead a happy and contented life. This book is all about how to anticipate and adapt to changes. It is a story of four characters, Hem, Haw, Sniff & Scurry. Sniff & Scurry mice, while Hem & Haw are human beings. These four characters live in a maze, search for cheese, and ultimately learn many timeless lessons.

Dr. Spencer Johnson 17 mins read Read in Hindi Self Improvement

Dr. Spencer Johnson writes this book as an American physician and author. He has written several other books, “out of the maze,” “one minute manager, and” the series, “yes no.” He served at “Harvard business school” as a teacher too.

“Who Moved My Cheese” The theme of this book is how to anticipate and adapt to changes. It is a story of four characters, Hem, Haw, Sniff & Scurry. Sniff & Scurry mice, while Hem & Haw are human beings. These four characters live in a maze and search for cheese.

This is a great book that teaches you to anticipate changes and adapt to them. Spencer Johnson has narrated it so nicely that everyone could relate to it. If we take some learnings from this book, this would be life-changing.

This book has sold 26 million copies worldwide in 37 different languages. It was a New York Times best-seller book. This book helped millions of people make their life better.

Chapter 1. The story

This story explains human tendency too, that how people get stuck in their comfort and can’t see the changes coming their way, or let’s say they don’t want to face changes and know the reality that the market is changing, they fail eventually.

Characters- In this story, there are four characters, Sniff & Scurry; these are two mice that are naturally blessed with smelling ability; with that ability, they search for cheese in the maze; we can learn a lot from them.

The other two are Hem & Haw; these are mice like a man. These two represent us, like how they think and how they act.

They got the thinking ability and ability to learn from past mistakes. But how they got stuck in a maze and what happens to them is what we will see here.

Maze – what maze is in this virtual story is a social, financial trap in the real world. How we get stuck in the career, Finance, and social sphere web.

Cheese is what we want, our desires, that usually never ends. Be it a financial goal, promotion, fame, etc.

Who Moved My Cheese

Our maze can be our office or workplace, society or relationship, and our cheese is what we want to achieve. But once we reach that, we get comfortable and forget that this may not be permanent.

We get depressed when these things are lost, and we don’t take action to improve things. That is explained in this book. Changing continuously could be painful but not more painful than regret.

Sniff and Scurry were two mice, and Hem and Haw were two little people representing human behavior.

Every day all of these search for cheese. Hem and Haw think that achieving their cheese is their ultimate goal and will add meaning to their life, as we all think.

Sniff & Scurry used their smelling ability to find their cheese. Then, they run in the direction from where the smell is coming.

In this method, they got lost many times, hit walls, and went in the wrong direction too. At the same time, Hem &Haw used their experiences and thinking abilities to conquer this task.

Finally, everybody found one cheese we will call station “c.” After that day, they all started going to cheese station “C” and enjoying cheese.

This became their daily routine. Here in this situation, we can relate it to humans, like how we all get stuck in our daily routine, like office work and meeting clients daily.

Sniff & Scurry wakes up early in the morning, goes to station c, ties their shoes to their neck, and starts enjoying cheese, while Hem & Haw first up they used to wake up early in the morning.

But after some days, they started waking up late, they dressed up a little late and went to station c more slowly than before.

Through this story, the author wants to convey the thought that, “Here we all humans can relate to this situation of Hem & Haw; we all tend to be lazier once we achieve our target, we take things for granted and get comfortable with them, and this habit gets included in our daily lifestyle.”

As soon as Hem & Haw reaches station C”. They put off their shoes and slippers, and after that, they enjoy their cheese meal.

They did not even bother to think about how this cheese came here. They just thought that this cheese was theirs and that this cheese was enough for a lifetime. Then, they made their house near station c” and started decorating their home with sayings:

“You stay happy when you have got cheese.”

They say – we deserve this cheese since we have worked so hard. Every night they go to their home and the following day come to enjoy their cheese.

This continues for some time. Their self-confidence turned into arrogance now. They got so much comfort that they could not guess what was happening around them.

As humans, we also don’t see changes coming our way and get comfortable with what we have achieved.

On the other side, Sniff & Scurry continued their daily routine. They come to station C, enjoy the cheese, oversee it to see if it is shrinking, and check if there are some changes between yesterday and today. After that, they go to the maze again to find another cheese. One morning, Sniff and Scurry came to station C and saw no cheese.

They were not shocked since they were expecting it. They were ready for changes and anticipating them from day one. Now they know what to do now. They put on their shoes and started thinking about what could be done in this situation. Finally, they decided to change themselves and started running to find another cheese station. Here is a learning lesson: we should reason, like Sniff & Scurry, and act according to the situation. We should keep an eye on changes too.

Chapter 2. Missing Cheese

Later, when Hem & Haw reached station C, they noticed that their cheese was no longer where it used to be. They needed more time to be ready for this significant change. Hem screamed- what? Cheese is not there; how come?

They were expecting a miracle, like someone would place their cheese again in the same spot. He screamed, “who moved my cheese.” His face turned red, and he cried, this is not fair. Haw nodded in disbelief. Both were shocked as both were not ready for the significant change.

Humans also become comfortable when we have so much money or when our business runs smoothly. And we think that this money and this business are enough for our lifetime and we are secure. For example, so many companies used to dominate the market thoroughly at some point, and now they are entirely out of business. Because they could not adapt to changes or they did not want to change.

They ignored every change that was coming their way.
Losing the cheese was not a good experience for both of them because they became addicted to that. And it was natural. They knew how vital this cheese was to them. In our daily life, this could be our lavish lifestyle, good health, or good social status.

Hem & Haw were wasting their time crying and regretting while Sniff & Scurry were running in the maze searching for cheese.

Finally, Hem & Haw got frustrated because they planned their life around cheese station C. They were feeling cheated that their cheese was sobbed from them without warning. So today, they both went home hungry. But before going home, they wrote on the wall:

“The more cheese is important to you, the more you would like to hold it.”

The next day, Hem & Haw exited their home and ran towards the station, hoping to find their cheese. But there was no cheese. They needed help understanding what to do now. They did not want to understand or even listen to anything.

They did not want to accept that cheese was not there anymore. Hem inspected so many times, but the result was the same. Hem looked around and said- where are Sniff & Scurry? Do they know something we are unaware of?

Who Moved My Cheese Summary

Hem said – they are mere mice, and we are humans, therefor we are unique and more deserving. Haw asked – how do we deserve that?

Hem said – because we are not responsible for this situation. Someone else is responsible for it. Therefore we deserve it back.

Haw advised – we should not think much about it and start looking for new cheese; what is gone is gone.

Chapter 3. Finding the missing cheese

Hem said- No, I will find out how this cheese disappeared.
While Hem & Haw wasted their time, Sniff & Scurry continuously searched for cheese in a maze. They were taking chances wherever they thought cheese could be found. They were only thinking about finding a new cheese. Finally, they reached an even bigger cheese station, station N, where they found what they were searching for. They got so happy because they found what they had searched for.

Meanwhile, Hem & Haw were sitting there in station C. They were frustrated and blamed each other for this. Haw thought that perhaps Sniff & Scurry would have found another cheese. He knew it was never easy to run into a maze and find another cheese, but deep down, he knew it was thrilling. He thought Sniff & Scurry had discovered their new cheese, and they were enjoying it. He often thinks about going into the exciting adventure of the maze. The more he thinks about it, the more he feels less attached to station C “let’s go,” Haw said.

“No,” Hem said.” I like this place; this is comfortable, this is well known to us, and outside this, we will have to face a lot of problems”, Here, this condition refers to human behaviour like how we all get stuck in our comfort zone because this is comfortable, well known to us and outside this comfort zone, we may have to face a lot of problems.

“No,” Haw said, “we have found a cheese station before and can do it again. We must take action and go to the maze, searching for another cheese. Here, Haw is showing his growth mindset, and that is the mindset we all must have.

Hem said – No, I can’t do that; I am not young enough to do that, and what if we go in the maze to search for new cheese and can’t find a new one. People will call us fools. I don’t want to be called a fool. Do you want to be called a fool? Here is the ultimate fear of us all human beings, to be called a fool. We are afraid to be called a fool.

After listening to that, they both became frustrated and broke.
After that, they go to station C daily and come back frustrated. Now they found that they couldn’t sleep because of hunger. They are sicker and more tired than before, both physically and mentally. Like humans, when we get stuck in our comfort zone, and now when no way is left other than getting out of this zone, we can’t escape it because of fear.

Chapter 4. Wait for the cheese

Now, these both go to station C and wait for cheese. Hem still thought nothing had changed and cheese must be near them. They decided to bring some tools to see behind the station C wall. The next day they came up with a hammer. They hit the wall with a hammer and made a hole in it.

As expected, they did not find anything. Here, Hem & Haw has a fixed mindset, and working according to a fixed mindset is harmful.

Now Haw understood the difference between working and working rightly. But he kept saying we would sit here and wait until someone put our cheese back in its spot. Haw wanted to believe in it, but deep down, he knew this would not happen. Both were getting weak day by day. Haw realized that the more time they wasted, the worse their condition. He realized that things were getting out of their hands.

Chapter 5. Mistake realization

Finally, he realized his mistake; he laughed at himself and said,” look at me; I repeated the same mistakes repeatedly and was expecting different results. But, instead, I kept on trying the same thing, and I was wondering why things were not getting better—what a shame.

Haw feared getting lost in the maze and needed help finding cheese. But he realized that this fear was holding him back, so he could not go to find another cheese. A few people among us reason like Haw did and acted accordingly. But this is a necessary quality to achieve success.

Haw put on his jogging dress and his running shoes. Hem saw him doing all these things and asked, “is he planning to go into the maze “? Why wait here until they put it back in the same spot? Hem asked.

Haw said- you are not getting it. I was not getting it, but now I understand that what is gone is gone. That cheese was our past. But now we need to move on, to find another cheese. Hem asked- but what if you don’t find another cheese even after going outside, or if there is no cheese?

Haw said- I don’t know, but keeping waiting here is not an option. We should move further; this is how life goes; keep pushing further.
Haw tried to convince him, but till then, Hem’s fear was turned into anger, and he was not even ready to hear how. Haw laughed at themselves at how foolish they were looking at this point. As he stood up to start his new journey, he felt enthusiastic since he had realized his mistake, and now he was on the right track.

Haw picked up a sharp stone and wrote a saying on the wall, hoping he would be inspired by reading this. The saying was:

“If you don’t change, you may get screwed.”

Chapter 6. Getting out

Haw headed out of the maze and looked into the labyrinth. He could not believe how he got stuck here for so many days. First up, he thought there was no cheese in the maze, and even if it were there, he would not be able to find it, and this fear was not letting him go inside the maze.

Haw knew Hem would be thinking, “who moved my cheese,” but Haw was shocked about himself and how he could not move on.
Now he headed towards the maze; he saw back at station C and thought, no doubt, it was a comfortable place to live, and he used to love it.

Who Moved My Cheese English

He again thought, does he wants to go inside really? So then he wrote a line over the wall:

“What would you do if you were not afraid.”

That is the most robust line of this story; in life, our fear doesn’t let us move forward, and at this stage, we must question ourselves, what would I do if I was not afraid?

He knew that there were fears that could result in good. But, when you are afraid, situations tend to get worse when you don’t take the necessary steps to overcome that.

He saw to his right, took a deep breath, and started running slowly toward the maze. When he was running in the maze, he noticed that he had wasted so much time at station C, which made him so weak, and he could not run at his full potential. So he decided that next time he would not repeat this mistake. He decided he would change himself whenever a problem arose. Life will become easy if he follows that. Then he smiled and thought,” it’s better late than never.

Chapter 7. Overcoming changes coming our way

As humans, we should learn how to overcome fear, move forward, and be mentally prepared to overcome the changes coming our way. Then, because there is no sense in repeating the same mistakes repeatedly, we should find our solution and hustle until we make it.
In the beginning, he found some cheese, but more was needed. He was hoping that soon he would find an enormous cheese and take it to Hem so he could be inspired.

The Hem was struggling, but he was more confident than before. He gets lost in the maze whenever he thinks he is going in the right direction. It was a challenge, but he admitted that finding a new cheese was easier than he thought.

Whenever he was frustrated, he told himself what to do. Then, of course, he was uncomfortable, but it was still a better situation than before. Now the situation was in his control because he was not for luck to happen.

He thought, if Sniff & Scurry can do that, I too can. He thought about the past and observed that the cheese of station C did not disappear suddenly. He should have kept an eye on that. But he did not do that. We, humans, should also accept changes going around because changes are inevitable. All we can do is keep an eye on them and do something, so we don’t get into trouble.

Haw realized that he would not felt shocked had he kept an eye on the cheese. Instead, he would be in control had he kept a watch. Maybe Sniff & Scurry did the same.

He stayed to relax for some time and wrote on the wall:

“Keep smelling your cheese to know when it is becoming rancid.”

Here is a lesson for us when our business is not performing well, or we are not going well, ponder about the changes, feel the difference, and don’t let it screw you. Instead, take immediate action to overcome those changes and hurdles.

Haw got tired now; he realized he was becoming weak. He also thought that he would not survive. He once pondered returning to station C, but he asked himself,” what would I do if I was not afraid.”

Haw was scared now. Then he thought about his best days running in a maze, and he wrote something on the wall:

“Keep moving forward helps us find a new cheese.”

He looked further, felt fear, and thought maybe it was lonely out there too, or maybe there were some dangers too. Again he thought, what would he do if he was not afraid?

Then he laughed at himself, thinking this fear had let him down before, and I would not let it do the same again. So he turned and started running in the maze, smiling. He was not enjoying that, but he gained some confidence, too, so it became comfortable for him.
He got shocked after seeing himself this happy” why am I feeling this good”? He thought, and then he wrote on the wall:

“When you control your fear, you feel good.”

Haw knew that he was stuck in a trap till now. But now he was free to walk in the right direction. He felt the cold breeze of the maze. It filled him with enjoyment. He now started seeing positives in every negative situation. (Humans also do the same, we should be positive in every negative situation.) The problem got better for him as he overcame his fear. It was happening to be a good mission.
Haw felt happy after a long time. He had forgotten that finding new cheese in this maze could be fun.

To make the situation better, he started imaging. He started thinking he was sitting on his favourite cheese and eating its pieces individually. Here, the author refers to using the power of imagination.

He imagined a picture of himself and felt it was real; he started believing more in himself, strengthening his belief. He wrote-
“assuming eating a new cheese takes me towards it.”

Why did I not do that before,” Haw asked himself. He ran into the maze faster and with more enthusiasm. Pretty soon, he found some pieces of cheese; he went to the door to see if there was any cheese in that station. He tasted some cheese.

But as soon he entered, he realized there was no cheese. He thought that had I come here sooner, I could have found cheese. So he thought he would return to them to ask if he wanted to go with him to find some cheese.

As he stepped back, he stopped and wrote on the wall-
“The sooner you move on from older cheese, the sooner you will find a new one .”

After some time, Haw went to station C, met him, and wanted to give him some pieces of cheese, but he refused to take it.
Haw nodded his head in frustration and went into the maze. Finally, he reached the point where he finished last. He felt his friend, but he also realized he was enjoying it. Yet he had not found much cheese; he was still feeling good.

He was happy because he overcame his fears. He was happy with what he was doing. He felt good and more energetic because he did not let fear take him down.

Who Moved My Cheese Hindi

He was assured now that he would find what he was searching for. The only matter was of time. He smiled and wrote something on the wall:

“It is safer to search in a maze than to be without Cheese.”

Here the author is trying to send a msg that crying over failure will not do any good for you; go out there and hustle and try to make everything work in your favour.

Chapter 7. Never as bad as you imagine

Haw again realized that what you are afraid of is never as bad as you imagine. The actual image is better than it is in our minds. He was so afraid of getting lost in the maze that he could not start. Midway he found enough cheese, and he was getting thrilled.
He always used to think about what could go wrong instead of what could go right.

He became so positive since he left station C. now he understands that changes are inevitable, whether you expect them or not. You will only get shocked when you are not ready. He realized that his beliefs are now changed. He wrote on the wall:

“Old beliefs do not lead you to new cheese.”

“When you see that you can find new cheese, you change course.”
Now, as soon he realized that his older beliefs are now changed, and with this new belief, he changed himself and became more confident.

Haw also realized that he would be in a better situation had he seen the changes coming his way. He would be more robust and could have faced these obstacles well. He could have found cheese had he anticipated changes early. But he took too much time to realize that. He collected his willpower and headed toward the maze.

He found some pieces of cheese there, which boosted his confidence. he wrote sayings on so many walls hoping that someday he would come here and be inspired by reading these lines. Suddenly a thought popped up in his mind, and he wrote it on the wall:

“You can adapt to changes more efficiently if you anticipate little changes when they occur.”

Till now, Haw had moved on from his past, and now he was heading toward the future. He thought he was stuck in this trap, but now that he got out of it, this journey ended.

Haw found a new cheese on station N. When he reached inside, he could not believe what he just saw; there were so many cheeses. He saw his friends Sniff & Scurry too. Their fat belly showed that they had been here for a long time.

Who Moved My Cheese Eng Hindi

Haw greeted both and tested cheese. He put off his jogging suit and shoes in case he needed them again. he lifted a piece of cheese, ate it, and said, “hooray for change.” He laughed at himself and found that he was changed when he realized he was making a mistake. He realized that the fastest way to change is to laugh at your mistakes; only then can you leave the past behind and move forward swiftly.

He also realized that Sniff & Scurry kept it simple. They did not make the situation more complicated, nor did they overthink. Instead, when circumstances changed, they changed and went o to search for another cheese.

Haw knows you can learn to face changes; you must be aware of keeping things simple. Then, be flexible and keep moving forward.
Refrain from making things complicated & worse by overthinking. Don’t let negative self-beliefs let you down.

Keep an eye on every little change, and you will be able to anticipate more significant changes. He also learned that you change yourself before it’s too late.

The most extensive enemy lives within you; unless you change, nothing will change. The most crucial lesson haw learned is that there is always a cheese outside, whether you recognize it or not. And will you will get it only when you overcome your fear and enjoy the thrill. Some fears are reasonable as they keep dangers at bay, but fears are often senseless and don’t let you achieve your dream.

He thought that Hem must have read now all sayings he wrote on the walls of station C. he thought about going back to Hem and convincing him to come with him, but he felt that he had tried that once before, and if he is to find a cheese, it’s up to him to move forward and change himself. It is his duty, not somebody else’s.
Here, we should learn that life is our responsibility, and we are fully responsible for what happens to us. Unless we change, nothing will change.

Learnings

Haw thought that he should write learnings on the wall of station C:

  1. “Changes happen; they keep moving the cheese.”
  2. “Anticipate changes; get ready for the cheese to move.”
  3. “Monitor change, smell cheese often so you know when it is getting old.”
  4. “Adapt to change quickly; the quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese.”
  5. “Change, move with the cheese.”
  6. “Enjoy change, enjoy the thrill, and enjoy the cheese.”
  7. “Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again & again. They keep moving the cheese.”

Hem realized he had come a long way after his suffering at station C. But he also knew he would slip back if he got too comfortable. So now he inspected station N to see what the condition of his cheese was. He wanted to ensure that this time he was not surprised by changes.

He still had a massive amount of cheese but went out into the maze to find other cheese. He wrote: “Keep moving with cheese and enjoy change.”

Here are some main takeaways from this story:

We are seeking our cheese in the real world. Where changes are inevitable, be ready for changes. Anticipate them. Stay calm about changes. Notice every single minor difference. Refrain from ignoring these changes. Adapt to those changes. Enjoy them. Keep looking for new opportunities. Change yourself for the sake of good. Have a growth mind. Unless you change, nothing will change.

Who Moved My Chess Book Review

Dr. Johnson’s narrative is simple yet profound, using the characters’ experiences in the maze to illustrate how individuals react to change. The story encourages readers to reflect on their own attitudes and behaviors when faced with unexpected shifts in their lives.

One of the book’s strengths is its ability to convey complex ideas through a relatable and engaging story. It is a quick read, making it accessible to a wide audience, from young adults to seasoned professionals. The lessons imparted in the book apply to personal and professional situations, making it a valuable resource for anyone seeking to improve their adaptability and embrace change.

“Who Moved My Cheese?” is a timeless classic that reminds me to be proactive, flexible, and open-minded in the face of change. It is a must-read for anyone looking to thrive in an ever-evolving world and maintain a positive outlook in challenging circumstances.

315 thoughts on “Who Moved My Cheese ”

  1. 13/28
    I realized that HEM destroyed himself, HAW overcome fear. SNIFF & SCURRY avoided overthinking and making things more complex.

    Reply

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