I read the best little book ever written recently, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, M.D. with the forward supplied by Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D.  These men are the Co-Authors of The One Minute Manager.   This book should be required reading for everyone, especially young people just getting out into the world.  It is an easy read with a cute story about coping with change, rather being able to anticipate change and deal with it as efficiently as possible.  The story is about two mice and two miniature people, (mouse-sized) and how every day they run through a maze looking for cheese.  The “cheese” being a metaphor for a goal or wanted situation.

The four characters in the book resembles each of the different methods that human nature gives us to deal with change, which is by human nature, not easily accepted.  Scurry is a mouse that runs through the maze looking for cheese.  He doesn’t run aimlessly because he has a good friend and partner named Sniff.  Sniff is constantly sniffing the air for that sweet cheese smell and when they do find a stash, he is always sniffing it to check for mold, (change).  Haw is one of the mini-people in the story whose partner is named Hem.  When Hem and Haw discover that their cheese pile is gone, they have a very different way of dealing with this change.  Hem gets angry and will not move from his cheese-less spot.  He feels because the cheese was there at one time, it should always be there.  Hem shouldn’t have to go out and look for more cheese because he had done that successfully already and feels he is entitled to that pile of cheese.  Haw responds like Hem in the beginning but starts to get hungry and worries that he will starve to death so he decides to wander through the maze and find another cheese pile.  Eventually, Haw does find another stash and we get to experience the metamorphoses that he goes through in realizing the effective way to deal with change.   Haw starts out angry and in disbelief that his cheese is gone and then goes through worry, fear and eventually gains the courage and determination to change his situation.

In these crazy days, of economic uncertainty, everyone should learn to be ready for change.  Keep a close eye on your particular situation, regardless if it is your job, a relationship, a business venture or partnership, and watch for little signals that change is occurring.  Be a Sniff.  Don’t Hem and Haw because change can leave you behind.  Be a Scurry, so long as you have the guidance of a friend like Sniff.  Run, don’t walk, out of your changing situation and create yourself a new one.  And by all means, don’t be a Hem or you will be left in the unemployment lines, alone, behind or out in the cold!

When I began my attempt into the world of virtual assistance, each and every day I was faced with the fear of change.  I had to change the way I thought about my role in the world, the way I scheduled my day, the tools I was comfortable using every day and the time I spent with my family.  I have a adapted over time to being able to see change coming, (I can’t wait for the Google Wave change) and am comfortable with it.  I am able to laugh at mistakes I make in attempting to learn new things and I face every day with anticipation and wonder of where my cheese will be!

Tags: Change, Fear, Virtual Assistant

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 24th, 2009 at 6:06 pm and is filed under Virtual Assistant Career. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.