Who Moved My Cheese— Dr. Spencer Johnson | Book Review

Patrick Spencer Johnson was an American physician and author. He was known for the ValueTales series of children's books, and for his 1998 self-help book Who Moved My Cheese?, which recurred on the New York Times Bestseller list, on the Publishers Weekly Hardcover nonfiction list.

The book was a light read, which leaves you thinking and evaluating your current situation and everything you have done and what you could have done to make everything better. The book recommends finding your way and help you understand that change is not bad; what is bad is the perspective we take in front of it.

It is a clear and simple book that talks about how to adapt to the constantly changing world. It has an allegory where four characters go through a maze searching for their cheese or goal, and at the end, it has a short dialogue where new characters appear, commenting on what the story has meant to their lives.

The allegory tells how two mice, named Sniff and Scurry, and two Lilliputians, Hem, and Haw go through a maze searching for cheese. This maze, for me, represents life because we have to be constantly moving to find that cheese, which represents our goal. Similarly, the characters differ because Sniff senses the change, Scurry rushes into action, Hem refuses the change, and Haw adapts and understands the change.

The way in which the author manages to narrate a subject as complex as CHANGE is incredible; in a concrete and simple way, he manages to plant that seed in your head, and from there, thousands of reflections come out. And the change is always in many aspects from work, personal, sentimental, etc. And it's not just always to accept the change. It is in seeing the change, knowing how to deal with it, and not letting go of it because although life sounds very cliché, really, my friend, it is a constant change, and you always have to go for more, have no respect for the status quo.

When I read the story, I realized that I was Hem; I refused to see the change and wanted to stay in my comfort zone. However, as I kept reading and saw that the other characters did not see change as counterproductive, then I began to think that I could adapt to the change that was taking place and be a Haw.

We live in a society that constantly promotes change, and that if we refuse to see it, we will not move forward. That is why I consider this book essential and that everyone should read it because it teaches you to adapt and learn from your mistakes and not judge yourself by them.

On the other hand, it is a book that one can read very quickly and gets a valuable lesson in a clear and simple way. Of course, to read it, you must want to see the change because if you read it by refusing to experience the message, it will not do you any good. The thing is to read with an open mind and see the good parts that this can teach you.

In my opinion, the four characters of the story are nothing more than the aspects of the personality of each individual: activity and passivity, optimism and pessimism, thought and action. Maybe I read it in a moment of uncertainty for my future, but I can only define it as enlightening. "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" is the sentence that sums up the whole story.

All the issues surrounding change are very relevant and current, which helps us relate this story to the situations we go through daily and makes us reflect on the decisions we have made in difficult or uncertain times. Fear can be very powerful and beneficial, but it depends on how we use it that will cause success or defeat.

Words of Wisdom

Concluding thoughts

I highly recommend it because it is a book that makes you see that change is not something negative but is the product of a world that is constantly changing and to which we can adapt if we see the positive things that this entails.

There is something that I loved, and it is a phrase that says, "You have to smell the cheese from time to time, so you know when it is getting old." Without a doubt, it is a book to give to the people around us and who are afraid of change for some reason or another. This book, in my opinion, varies the rating and the importance that is given, depending on the person and their ideals and beliefs. The message it transmits is good and necessary; although not entirely new, it does so in a simple and entertaining way which makes the reader understand in a simpler way what cheese means and its relationship with change. #SpencerJohnson #WhoMovedMyCheese #BookReview #Selfhelp