Who moved my Cheese?

This book was written by Dr. Spenser Johnson together with his other inspirational business books!  The shortest that I have read thus far, just 2 hours because it's very simple and practical.  It is applicable to almost everybody and it's just amazing how one person can relate to another even if they are having a different life path. 

I think what's effective in this book is that  four characters were presented, everybody who will read the book can easily relate to any of the characters.

There is a quote that says "I can give sound advice but I cannot apply it to myself" -- same case here.  A situation is given to the characters and as a third person looking at the situation, it is likely that we will advice them of the same actions to take but if we are in that situation, will we do what we have adviced?

An interesting story that talks about how life gets complicated if we do not accept change as it happens.  Change is inevitable, it's the only constant thing in this world.  If we cannot adapt with the changes then it will be doubly hard for us to move forward.

Change happens any time to any one at any place and the best way to deal with it is to face it with an action plan! Here are the changes that may occur to us: 

- Changing schools

- Graduating from college

- Changing roles within an organization

- Changing supervisors or subordinates

- Changing companies

- Getting married

- Having children

- Change in financial situation

- Changing business strategy

- Changing location (home)

and a lot more that I can think of.  From simple to complex they are all the same.  So how do we deal with it?  

Simple: we accept the fact that change happens and we need to act fast in adapting to it.  Here are some tips that I learned from the book:

1. Recognize change even before it actually happens - this means being sensitive with the situation we are at and anticipating that change can occur.  In anticipating, we are preparing ourselves for what is about to happen and avoiding surprises along the way. 

 

2.  Let go of Fear - most of the time, its our fear that makes our decisions clouded.  We spend all our energy fearing what's beyond rather that directing the energy to finding better ways to do things.   We need to let it go because it will clear our mind on what we really need to do.  If we are afraid to move forward to an unfamiliar place then we will be in a "no good place" situation.  Sometimes (or most of the time) it will help us grow and mature as individuals if we (just try to) move out from our comfort zones.

3. Looking at change in a positive way - a change can happen as an effect of a difficult situation.  In any case, we need to look at changes as an opportunity for us to do better.  Another saying goes "If the door closes, a window will open" -- but let me add to that -- we do not wait for the window to open, we need to make it happen and act positively.

4. Simple is better - sometimes we, humans, tend to complicate things.  Though it's best to assess a situation and do root cause analysis (if something went wrong) it's also not good to dwell too much on it.  We need to act fast.

Now what's next? Let's all be ready for the change that we have been waiting for.  Let's anticipate, accept and act on the changes that comes along!

Xoxo