Book Summary of " Who moved my cheese " by spencer Johnson

The book consists of four characters Sniff, Scurry, Haw, and Hem. Of the four characters Sniff and Scurry are mice, Hem and Haw are the size of mice but looked and acted like humans. The main difference the book addresses is about how would people with different types of mindsets react to the same situation. Sniff and scurry possess simple brains and good instincts but haw and hem possess complicated brains with many beliefs and emotions.

These four mice's lived in an imaginary maze where their only job is to find cheese for their living. So they would run through the maze from their homes every morning, with their jogging shoes on, looking for cheese, and would return home at night. The maze has a plethora of corridors and chambers, containing some delicious cheese but there were also dark corners and blind alleys leading nowhere. It was an easy place to get lost.

Mice sniff and scurry would use trial and error method to find their cheese, sniff, being good at smelling things using his great nose and would smell out the cheese and scurry would race out with him to find their cheese. But haw and hem, relying on their complex brains, used their ability to think to develop more sophisticated methods for finding cheese.

One day all of them found their cheese at cheese station C. And Everyone started enjoying their cheese but, as time went on, sniff and scurry never left their routine of finding new cheese, even if there was enough left at cheese station C . every day they would go in search of new cheese around the maze. However Haw and Hem, felt that the cheese at station C would last them forever, they were just relying on cheese station C and stopped searching for new Cheese, until the cheese at station C finished. All this time while Sniff and Scurry were being Prudent, keeping a track of cheese at Station C, and not being complacent of their cheese at Station C and searching for new stations. Haw and Hem became arrogant and complacent of their Success, cheese at station C, and stopped searching for new stations.

Haw and hem were very disappointed with the situation, they couldn't believe and digest what had happened with them, They didn't what to deal with the change, and started to overanalyze things, instead of just, putting on their jogging shoes and start, searching for new cheese just like sniff and scurry, They started, Overanalyzing the situation, and dug deep into the walls of station C in search of cheese but in vain. 

After trying all they can with their complicated brains haw realized that it's better to start searching for new cheese again instead of overanalyzing things and brooding over it. He started motivating Hem to start their search for cheese again but Hem did not want to get out of his comfort zone, He was afraid of the change, so he responded to haw that the cheese is not available anywhere in the maze, instead of wasting their energy in running around the maze in search of new cheese its better to stay here, at station C, and wait for the cheese to appear here again.

Haw just closed his eyes and asked himself one question" where am I more likely to find cheese - here, at station C, or in the maze ? ". He opened his eyes and said to himself - " It's maze time".

If you don't change, you can become extinct.

The hem was just waiting for things to change in his favor, but Haw got out of the comfort zone and adapted to the change quickly, took control of his situation, instead of simply letting things happen. The journey of haw, in the maze searching for cheese, was not easy at all. He didn't found cheese immediately. but hunting for cheese wasn't as nearly as bad as he feared it might be, some of his learnings on his journey to find new cheese was :

1. sometimes fear can be good, but it is not good when you are so afraid that it keeps you from doing anything.
2. The Fear that you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that exists.
3. It is natural for change to continually occur, change can surprise you only if you didn't expect it and weren't looking for it. Expect and anticipate change to happen and look for it.
4. Old believes don't lead you to new cheese.

Noticing small changes early helps you to adapt to bigger changes that are to come.

Later as Haw was reflecting on his journey, he realized that cheese at station C had not just disappeared overnight, as he once believed, but was getting smaller and old day by day. You can Analyze your situation better after coming out of your comfort zone; instead of staying in there as hem and wasting time analyzing things with your old beliefs.

There is always new cheese whether you recognize it at the time, or not. and you are rewarded with it when you, adapt faster, go past your fears and enjoy the adventure else if you do not adapt in time, you might as well not adapt at all.

By now haw had let go of the past and was adapting to the change, he was unsuccessful in finding a cheese station but was able to find little pieces of cheese along the way that kept him going. Finally, he found a new cheese station - cheese station N - he went inside it and was amazed to see the greatest supply of cheese, piled up everywhere, he had ever seen. He didn't recognize some of the cheese as they were new to him. He wondered for a moment whether he was daydreaming until he saw sniff and scurry, with their fat bellies, welcoming him. Sniff and scurry did not overanalyze or overcomplicate things. They were, not complacent, keeping a track of cheese at station C and when the situation changed, when the cheese had been moved out of station C, they changed and moved with the cheese

Writings of haw on the walls of the maze

Some of you might be wondering what might have happened to Hem, haw being a good friend of hem wrote about all his learnings on the walls of the maze on his journey from station C to station N, hoping that if Hem comes out of station C, his comfort zone, he can follow the learnings of his friend, written on walls, to find new cheese, station N, 

Hope hem joins haw !!!!!