Who Moved My Cheese: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life

by Dr Spencer Johnson

He decided that if he ever got the chance again, he would get out of his comfort zone and adapt to change sooner. It would make things easier.

Haw smiled a weak smile as he thought, “Better late than never.”

He had to admit he found it confusing in the Maze. Things seemed to have changed since the last time he was out here.

Haw now realized that the change probably would not have taken him by surprise if he had been watching what was happening all along and if he had anticipated change.

“What would I do if I weren’t afraid?”

Haw thought he was past his fear, but he was afraid more often than he liked to admit, even to himself. He wasn’t always sure what he was afraid of, but, in his weakened condition, he knew now he was simply fearful of going on alone. Haw didn’t know it, but he was running behind because he was still weighed down by fearful beliefs.

Haw realized he had been held captive by his own fear. Moving in a new direction had freed him.

Haw kept thinking about what he could gain instead of what he was losing. He wondered why he had always thought that a change would lead to something worse. Now he realized that change could lead to something better.

Haw realized again, as he had once before, that what you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists.

Now he realized it was natural for change to continually occur, whether you expect it or not. Change could surprise you only if you didn’t expect it and weren’t looking for it.

He realized the fastest way to change is to laugh at your own folly—then you can let go and quickly move on.

He had to admit that the biggest inhibitor to change lies within yourself, and that nothing gets better until you change.

While Haw still had a great supply of Cheese, he often went out into the Maze and explored new areas to stay in touch with what was happening around him. He knew it was safer to be aware of his real choices than to isolate himself in his comfort zone.

“So you were managing when you needed to be leading.”