Work with change, not against it

A friend of mine offloaded a ton of business books to me when I told him I was interested in learning more about the subject. One book was incredibly short and looked more like a children's book than a business one.

"Who Moved My Cheese?" Despite being written so simply that even 10-year-olds could understand it, the content is incredibly insightful and life-changing.

The Story

"Who Moved My Cheese?" is a brilliant allegory with four characters: Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw. Each represents different ways people react to change.

Sniff and Scurry are mice. Hem and Haw are "Littlepeople." They all live in a maze filled with cheese stations, searching for cheese—their life's goal.

The cheese symbolizes different goals in your life: a successful career, wealth, family, friends, or anything else you pursue.

All four characters find a massive cheese station with enough cheese to last what feels like a lifetime. But one day, it runs out. The simple-minded mice immediately run back into the maze looking for more cheese. The emotional Littlepeople refuse to work and instead ignore the problem or blame others.

Each character represents a unique approach:

• Sniff - Always looking for opportunities and change
• Scurry - Always ready to take action
• Haw - Willing to change and grow
• Hem - Unwilling to change, even in extreme circumstances

Eventually, Haw gets fed up and decides to face his fears. He goes back into the maze to find more cheese because he can't live without it. Hem refuses and decides to stay put forever.

Throughout his journey, Haw learns valuable lessons and writes them on the maze walls. The most important lesson: change is necessary, and it's better to embrace it than fight against it. Haw reunites with Sniff and Scurry at an even better cheese station, never letting complacency and ignorance get the better of him again.

Dealing with Change

Change is inevitable. Treating it like the enemy leads you down a path where you're always fighting it and refusing to learn what it's trying to teach you.

Here are the lessons Haw learned that helped him overcome his hatred of change:

Accept That Change Happens

Assuming nothing in your life will change is ignorant at best and delusional at worst. Things beyond your control will always impact your life—whether it's your company going bankrupt, the economy entering a recession, or losing a loved one. Change happens. You need to work with it instead of against it.

Anticipate Change

When change happens, do you know how you'll react? Will you embrace it or fight it?

What if you suddenly lost your job? Do you have a backup plan? Can you still support yourself financially? What if you lose a loved one? Do you have a community that can support you through difficult times?

You need to be prepared for change. You can't prepare for everything, but having backup plans allows you to adapt more easily rather than turning away from change.

Monitor Change

Look at your life retrospectively, as if you were an outside observer examining someone else's situation.

Are there small changes happening that could lead to bigger ones? Maybe your team is shrinking, or your health is declining. Recognize these small changes and create a game plan before things get worse.

The bigger the change, the harder it is to make that adjustment.

Adapt to Change Quickly

The quicker you spot change and start adapting, the easier it becomes. You also need to understand that the faster you let go of old ways, the faster you can find new approaches that will help you achieve the same"cheese."

Haw was nearly dragged backward when Hem kept refusing to enter the maze with him. His fear of missing out almost cost him all his new cheese. Instead, he faced that fear, entered the maze, and found even more cheese than before.

"What would you do if you weren't afraid?" This was one of Haw's maze wall writings, recognizing that fear was preventing him from thriving.

Ask yourself the same question.

What old habits are holding you back from adding new tools to your arsenal? Find them and eliminate them from your life. Otherwise, you'll be held back and won't adapt to change well enough to succeed.

Change

When it's time to change, just do it. The quicker you act, the easier it becomes. The fewer thoughts and emotions you attach to it, the faster you'll make the decision.

Change is constant. You can either move with it or work against it—and it's much better to move with it, even if it seems harder initially.

Enjoy the Change

Change typically involves learning, settling into new environments, and meeting new people. Enjoy it! You're discovering first-hand how complex the world is, and through change, you're learning more about it. Embrace the learning process.

Be prepared for future change

Once you've made a change, don't pack away your gear. Be prepared for future changes—they might be easier than what you just experienced, but they could also be much more difficult. Anticipate and monitor. Don't get caught off-guard.

Other thoughts

• Stay alert. Always being comfortable blinds you to small changes that can turn your world upside down. Be self-aware and step out of your comfort zone.
• Stay sharp. Otherwise, someone else will, and they'll steal your cheese.
• Stay humble. Don't let confidence become arrogance. Keep grounded people around you who won't let your ego get too high.
• Know yourself. Which character represents you right now? Which character do you want to be more like?
• Have long-term vision. What are your long-term goals? Envision them clearly—they'll sustain you during tough periods of change because you know it's for the greater good.
• Take ownership. Don't ignore problems or give others power over you. Become self-sufficient so you have the biggest say in your life.
• Think independently. Don't always follow the crowd. Many people might share your goals, but few achieve them.
• Remember the fundamentals: Embrace change, or problems only get harder. Don't expect different results from the same actions. If you don't change, you risk becoming extinct. Laugh at yourself—don't take yourself too seriously. If you think everything you do is right, you won't change.