Journal entry dated 4/19/03
I found this book written by Spencer Johnson MD. It was a short story about 2 mice and 2 little people who lived in a maze. It talked about the mouse/human mind, simple vs. complex thinking while looking for food (i.e. the cheese in the maze). It serves as a model for so many things in our lives from simple contentment to success in our careers. Here is what my notes said.
Always remember the story of Hem and Haw (little people) Sniff and Scurry (the mice). How Haw found the courage to go back into the maze to look for new cheese after the old cheese was gone and Hem who refused to accept change and stayed in station C where hey had originally found the cheese (i.e. food, sucess, wealth, respectability, prestige..etc.) and refused to accept the changes in the cheese (getting older and smaller until it was eventually gone). Even when starvation set in Hem refused to accept that he was not owed new cheese and would not budge from station C until it reappeared. Haw after he finally realised that new cheese wasn't going to come to station C taht it was him that would have to change and needed to change and go back into the maze and look for new cheese. One of the best thing he learned was it really wasn't the finding of the big cheese find but the wonder of the journey. Finding the bits and pieces of new cheeses along the way and the lessons he learned which he wrote down.
Keep it Simple and Be Prepared to Change:
1) Having cheese makes you happy.
2) The more important your cheese is the more you want to hold on to it.
3) If you do not change, you become extinct.
4) What would you do if you weren't afraid?
5) Smell the cheese often so you know when it's getting old.
6) Imagining yourself enjoying new cheese even before you find it, leads you to it.
7) The quicker you let go of the old cheese the sooner you find new cheese.
8) It's safer to search in the maze than to remain in a cheeseless situation.
9) Old beliefs do not lead you to new cheese.
10) When you see that you can find and enjoy new cheese, you can change course.
11) Noticing small changes early helps you adapt to the bigger changes that are to come.
He also wrote notes on the wall for his friend to follow
HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
A) CHANGE HAPPENS. They keep moving the cheese.
B) ANTICIPATE CHANGE. Get ready for the cheese to move.
C) MONITOR CHANGE. Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old.
D) ADAPT TO CHANGE QUICKLY The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese.
E) CHANGE Move with the cheese.
F) ENJOY CHANGE! Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese.
G) BE READY TO CHANGE QUICKLY AND ENJOY IT AGAIN AND AGAIN They keep moving the cheese.
I hope that you will check this book out it is very well written and it teaches us some very good lessons. As we have all found throughout our lives it is inevidetable some nitwit is going to come move our cheese. We can't just stay in one place without wearing out our welcome nor will we be developing the abilities we need to reach goals that will improve our lives and happiness. We all deserve to be happy which is concept that survivors often have a hard time grasping. We are so busy surviving that we don't seem to have time to go after fulfillment and happiness which is not only sensible goal but entirely within our grasp. Every once in awhile I have to get my notes out and review the rules and the handwriting on the wall when I feel stuck in one place. I hope that you get as much out of this book as I did. It took me approximatly 30 minutes to read and has hopefully had a permanent effect on my life.
