"Who MoVed My Cheese?": A Cheesy Review

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“No cheese? No cheese? Who moved my cheese? It’s not fair!”

When I saw the title, the first impression that came into my mind is that the story is cheesy, talking about a personal property, a cheese rather, being misplaced/displaced. Now the characters, which are rats or mice, are complaining who probably have moved their cheese? And I was partially right, the story is about a thing that you claim, and experienced moving that “cheese” and four characters showing us what to do with that change. Though they are not all mice, and what is surprising is that the one complaining about their cheese is not a mouse, but a man. Enough of the story, I thought the title is attention-catching and capturing, it is really interesting to read.

“It’s … Maze … time!”

And I wasn’t let down, the story is mind-changing and like the Secret Documentary (which I'll be posting too), my perspectives changed because of the book. There are four characters in the story namely Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw. Each one of them portrays the “simple and the complex parts of ourselves, regardless of our age, gender, race or nationality.” The two mice, one of them is Sniff, who sniffs out the cheese, or sniffs out the change that easy, and there’s Scurry who takes into action hurriedly, easily adjusted to the “movement of the cheese” and they are our simple versions. The two others, Hem, who is afraid to change because of its pessimistic behavior, and Haw, who later on realized that change might lead to something better therefore adapting into it, are two little persons in the size of a mouse who represent the complex side of humans for they use their brains and humanistic behaviors. I saw myself in all of them, sometimes I am Sniff, sometimes I am Scurry, then became Hem, and then remembered that sometimes I am Haw.

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My favorite part is when Haw laughed and realized that they are doing it over and over again but nothing better is happening, and then he realized that if he will go out the station he might find his new “Cheese”. I must say that that is the turning point of the story, where Haw realized, “What would you when you weren’t afraid?” which is also my favorite quote in the whole book. For a guy who’s always scared to run things and isn’t confident on everything, this is my quote to ponder. I like also the introductory part where the Maze story was introduced to a certain group of colleagues by a businessman and the near end where the story was deliberated.

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Dr. Spencer Johnson aesthetically mixed the life lessons and the plot in one good book. He also displayed the emotions and the fear in the story, and I was submerged into that feeling because I was easily attached to the situation of Haw, because I can relate to Haw! So I followed him and accompanied him throughout the maze to see what will happen to him. Will he find his new Cheese? Will he go back to the fearful Haw? What might go in his way? These questions boggling my mind as I read the story seemed to be the questions I am questioning myself. Will I find my type of Cheese? Can I become brave? What might go my way if I will continue to be brave? I salute Dr. Johnson for successfully connecting the story to his audience.

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Though the book was more focused on the principles of business, I suggest that it should still be read by all walks of life and all generations, the moral lesson will still be there and would be the same for all who have heard and listened to it (and might as well use ‘watched’ because the story has a YouTube video), that change doesn’t revolve on us, we revolve on change. But, even though it should be read by everyone, the practicality and the applicability of the story is questionable. Yes the story is extracted, and now we enjoy its juice, but the vitamins it has might be more effective to those who need it, get my point?

If I were to give a mark or a score for the book out of five, I think I will give it 4.5 out of five. The lacking 0.5 points may have been there if I was not bored on the near end, when the group of friends are discussing about their lives before, during and after they heard the story. Maybe it was the point that my interest and attention is turning down from the hype of the a-Mazing story. But I highly recommend the story, it was beautifully made to inspire everyone not to be afraid of changes, we could become Sniff, Scurry, and Haw but not Hem all the times.

Let us remember the last reminder of Haw for all of us, that we have to, 

“Move with the Cheese and enjoy it!”

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