Adapting to Change in Midlife: Lessons From "Who Moved My Cheese?"

In England, during my first decade I had the luxury of 3 terrestrial TV channels, and as far as I can recollect, weekend TV consisted mainly of various sports and mostly dull black and white films. Our fourth channel landed near the end of 1982 when I was almost 12 and our 5th channel in 1997.  It was only by the late mid/late 90s that having satellite or Cable TV at home in the UK became the norm.

So, with very little viewing choices available, and a big scuffle required with my sister (who to this day is a huge media fan) if I wanted to watch something different to her - I became obsessed with reading. From about the age of 8 to my early 20s I was an avid fan of novels from George Orwell to Terry McMillan, I just could not stop reading!

From my early to mid 20s (and to this day) I became obsessed with personal development, my daughters have recently given me the nickname "Productivity Queen" because I would rather read a personal development book and apply the relevant principles then read a novel!

In 1998 Dr Spencer Johnson's book Who Moved My Cheese was published, this was one of the first 'grown up' books that I'd ever read.  It used a short allegorical story, where the characters and events are used as symbolism about how we, as humans, respond to personal change. The story blew my mind and to this day I still use it when discussing behavioural change within organisations.

 

THE STORY
The story is about two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two mouse-sized humans called Hem and Haw. They live within a maze and need to find "cheese". The maze represents life, a career, or an organisation: the broader ever-changing environment that we live within.

Cheese is used as a stand-in for whatever it is that we want in life - a meaningful well-paid job, healthy relationships, success, lots of money, security, good health etc. All four characters find a huge stash of cheese at "Cheese Station C" - a specific point within the maze, and they settle into a comfortable routine close to the cheese.

But one day, the cheese is gone…

Sniff and Scurry, who'd been sniffing around noticing the supply dwindling over time, aren't surprised so they immediately set off to find new cheese.  They expected it and so they adapt instinctively without overthinking its disappearance.

Hem and Haw the mouse-sized humans, on the other hand, are caught off-guard by the disappearance of the cheese and they are furious. They feel the unfairness that the cheese has suddenly gone and decide to stay at Cheese Station C, waiting for the old cheese to reappear. Over time Haw eventually realizes that the only way to move forward is to explore different stations within the maze and find new cheese, but Hem remains in denial and refuses to leave.

So, Haw sets out alone, and much of the story follows his internal journey - his fear of the unknown, the small realizations he writes on the maze walls as motivational notes to himself, and his eventual discovery of a new, even bigger cheese station, where he finds Sniff and Scurry already settled in.

 

IT’S MEANING
The book's core message is that change is inevitable, and clinging to "the way things were", out of fear, entitlement, or comfort, can cause more suffering than the change itself. The mice, who didn't overanalyse, adapted fastest and benefited; the mouse-sized humans, who intellectualized and resisted, suffered longest.

We all have different psychological responses to a change within our environment or life and the four characters in Who Moved My Cheese are used to highlight distinct psychological responses to change, some of us anticipating it and as a result are well prepared, others act on it when it occurs, but many of us resist change or deny it.

Over the past 20 years I have worked with global and national organisations who have needed to quickly change the behaviour of their staff - in total, well over 100,000 people. I can confirm that most of us either act on it when there is no other choice or simply try to resist or deny the change altogether.

The reason why this story still resonates with me today is because I have realised at midlife that no situation is permanent, there is a season for everything, and as a result we have to start new chapters in life. Throughout life there have been - and will be - many “Cheese Station C”s.  They come and they go, but at midlife the speed at which we adapt to the Cheese Stations disappearing will impact us significantly later in life. Either we prepare ourselves adequately by anticipating change, or we equip ourselves so that we are able to act quickly when we are suddenly impacted by a significant change in our life - or we resist change or, worse still - refuse to accept change.

The central lesson from Who Moved My Cheese? is that we need to adapt when circumstances change, rather than cling to what worked in the past. It’s a lesson I’ve had to learn the hard way, and one that helped shape Now She Builds.

Now She Builds provides focused actions and interventions to help you address specific challenges across your finances, mindset, productivity and wellness, creating meaningful change while giving you the tools, knowledge and support to move forward confidently on your own. My goal is to help you prepare for change, build resilience and create the foundations you need to succeed in the next chapters of your life.

If you're still standing at your empty “Cheese Station C”, Now She Breathes is where you can start moving again.

Speak soon.
Sharon x