Let’s Talk about Change!

Now, there is one thing, and that is that the only permanent feature in life is change! Yes it happens all the time, and there is really nothing we can do about it.  What does make the difference though is how we deal with change when it presents.

Let’s be honest it is not really in the human DNA to gracefully accept change, right?  Let me give you an example,  earlier this year, I participated in a mindfulness course, and one week the home practice was to sit in a different chair in the evening. Quite amusing really there were 8 of us on the course and all us confessed to generally sitting the same seat to watch tv or do whatever we do in the evening.  Now, the evening  when I decided to practice moving seats, my husband was  up in arms about it!!! Why are you sitting there he moaned, yes you read right moaned.  And that was a minor inconsequential change, not life threatening and no deal breaker.

In terms of change, it has occurred to me more than once that we should take our cue from mother nature. The weather simply does what it does, its lovely, its treacherous, and sometimes wreaks havoc,  either way it keeps going, climate change has changed how the weather behaves, so check out that adjustment right there.

There are many publications on the subject of change, but one of my all time favourites is the book, by

Doctor  Spencer Johnson- : Who Moved My Cheese.

Introduction

Who moved my cheese, depicts what happens  whenever there is a big change, in particular one outside of our control. It does it by telling a story of 4 people, 2 men and 2 mice.  The men are called Hem and Haw and the mice are Sniff and Scurry.  The 4 people all live in a maze, and every day they get up and go to a cheese station.  Then at the end of the day they go home having eaten their fill of the cheese. One day they go to the cheese staton, which incidentally is called Cheese Station C, and it is gone.

Big OMG moment! Sniff and Scurry don’t even wait around, they don their trainers, (which by the were round their necks) and off they went in search of new cheese. The humans on the other hand initially refused to adjust, and they moaned and complained, who moved the cheese they said, its not fair said one in particular.

Eventually one of them also ventures out of the old Cheese station C, and goes in search of new cheese, but one absolutely refuses to go.  Even when the other comes back with bits of new cheese for him, he refuses it.  There are delightful little tit bits, of information throughout the book, tells you what happens to the cheese as you go along, and how much value we place on it and what happens when it goes.  It also tells you how to deal with change and the best way of not letting it creep up and catch you unaware.

 My Favourite bit

I really connected with the human character who after having left the old cheese station, started to find bits of cheese here and there, but even though it was not enough he went back to give his friend some. It was hard on him when his friend would not have any of the new cheese he brought  or leave the old station with him despite him reassuring him that it would be ok.

If you like:

Analogies and euphemisms, then this book is for you, and on a plus side its a short very straightforward book.  Even though its quite an old publication, the points are still relevant, if not even more so, considering the lack of Job security etc.

I rate:

Rating: 9/10

Recommendation: Yes if you are looking for a straightforward way of dealing with change, then I would recommend this book.

No if you are looking for a deep theory on change. It does not delve very deeply into the theory that surrounds change.