Who Stole My Cheese? Self-Analysis

Change, like time, is always happening. There is no way to stop it, not even for a second. Whither or not you realize it, you are always changing in every possible way. However, we commonly simplify change to only the large differences in our normal routines each day or week, whither they are expected or unexpected. These large problems can sometimes become problems for people, which is not surprising. They should be problems, whither they are good problems to have, or bad. It is our job to adapt to these changes, and to adapt quickly. All of the time it takes you to adapt, is time lost, time you will never regain. This principle is easily explained by Spencer Johnson, M.D. in his book Who Moved My Cheese?.

Hem, Haw, and two speedy mice running through a maze looking for cheese first sounded like a very odd way to analyze how people deal with change, however, after reading a section, the comparison between two different people and mice is a very creative and correct comparison. The mice, are concerned with one thing, their cheese. They do not worry about having a permanent home or structure to fall back on. They are like Indians following the buffalo wherever they roam. They are constantly on the move following their source of life. The little people, Hem and Haw, however, are more concerned with have a home, and a schedule. A life that stays the same with themselves always perfectly content. They do not want to have to worry about will they have food the next day, or will they have some place to sleep the next night.

When a cheese did disappear, the mice had no problem adapting to it. They simply went out in search of new cheese the minute they didn't have any. They didn't waste even a second complaining. They knew it was do or die. If they did not find new cheese, then they would wither and die. Hem and Haw thought it was unfair and did nothing of value. They complained that it was unfair that someone had taken their cheese from them. And after sitting around for days, they began to grow weak without food. Finally, Haw realizes that they cheese is not coming back and that they will perish without a new food source. Haw then ventures out to find a new source of cheese. However, he had grown so weak he questioned whither he had waited too long to venture out when he had not found any cheese for several days. Haw persisted and eventually found new cheese and learned his lesson. Hem however, remained where he was, and perished.

When I compare myself to these four characters, I find that I am a mix of all of them, even the mice. I find that they are some situations where I am so determined to do something that I will not stop until I reach my goal no matter what gets thrown in my way. Yet there are the times when something totally unexpected is thrown at me, and I simply shut down. I am always able to, however, pull myself. Sometimes it will take me longer than others, but I will never perish like Hem did for refusing change.

Just the other day, I had to take an English test, which was completely different from every other English test I had ever taken in the class. All of the other tests had followed a clear pattern. You always knew what to expect on the tests. But this test was completely different. There were no multiple choice