Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr Spencer Johnson ( You Decide Challenge 2017)

Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr Spencer Johnson

Chosen by Virginie Busette

Summary

It is the amusing and enlightening story of four characters who live in a maze and look for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. Cheese is a metaphor for what you want to have in life, for example a good job, a loving relationship, money or possessions, health or spiritual peace of mind. The maze is where you look for what you want, perhaps the organisation you work in, or the family or community you live in. The problem is that the cheese keeps moving.

In the story, the characters are faced with unexpected change in their search for the cheese. One of them eventually deals with change successfully and writes what he has learned on the maze walls for you to discover. You'll learn how to anticipate, adapt to and enjoy change and be ready to change quickly whenever you need to. 

Discover the secret of the writing on the wall for yourself and enjoy less stress and more success in your work and life. Written for all ages, this story takes less than an hour to read, but its unique insights will last a lifetime.

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So it's only January and already this challenge has gone horribly wrong. This is why I don't do challenges. As you may recall, last year I asked for you to pick twelve books that you thought I should read in 2017. The books you chose are listed here. As you can see January was supposed to be The Truth by Terry Pratchett, as chosen by Katharine Corr. I had all good intentions of that being the first book, but I had trouble getting hold of it. Instead I ended up reading Who Moved My Cheese as I had bought it for my husband for Christmas and as he loved it so much, he insisted I read it there and then. 

I really hope to stick to the rest of the plan but it has all now moved back a month. and I now have The Truth ready to read for February. 

Anyway back to Who Moved My Cheese? Firstly I have to admit to being a real sucker for a self improvement book. I love learning more about myself and trying to change things to make life better. And this little beauty is and ideal read to see who you really are. The book follows a simple parable, about four different characters who live in this maze and look for cheese to keep them nourished. When the cheese disappears, we watch how each one will react. As stated above, cheese is a metaphor for anything in life that you really want. How you go about getting it. 

On reading this book, I was extremely surprised to realise how much I am like the character, Hem, who sits tight and doesn't change anything, hoping it will all work itself out in the end, even though the situation is looking dire. To be honest, I was shocked. I knew I wasn't like Sniff and Scurry, the two mice, who realise quite quickly that things are changing and head off as soon as they can to find something better. However, I always hoped I came across as Haw, who might leave it far too long, but eventually adapted to the changes around him. 

It's made me reevaluate what I want. This tiny little book has made me realise I must always be ready for change, because you never know when circumstances may alter your journey in life. I hate change and now I realise I must learn to love it. No one can continue in the same way forever, because things do become dated and worn. Change is the only constant in our lives.

I think this is a brilliant self help book. So short and simple, yet it really gives you all need to know. I would highly recommend it, to those in need of the motivation to help deal with the changes occurring in their lives. 

Thanks to Virginie Busette for recommending this book as part of my You Decide 2017 challenge. 

Next month's read will be The Truth by Terry Pratchett, as picked by Katherine Corr.