In search of new cheese

‘What would you do if you weren’t afraid?’

‘Who Moved My Cheese’ is a great little book by Dr Spencer Johnson, about what can happen if you get too comfortable in a situation and how you might react if that familiar environment suddenly changes.

Two mice and two little people are characters in a parable about the negative impact of complacency and the choices available if you accept that fear can sometimes be a good thing.

I read it in an hour and didn't appreciate the impact it would have, but a year later I realised it had burrowed into my subconscious and the message, ‘What would you do if you weren’t afraid?’, kept returning to front of mind.

Old or stale cheese is not appealing (unless you're Luna – my daughter's labrador), and eating the same cheese, never trying a different kind, your whole life would be pretty limiting. Although I’ve tried different types of cheese throughout my life, my then current choice was definitely old and starting to smell like rancid socks.

As in the story, rather than proactively seeking new cheese an event pushed me to begin a search. At the time I was upset and somewhat panic stricken, but as time passes and the world hasn’t collapsed around me, I’m excited and invigorated by the prospect of a fresh start. Sloughing off something old for something new feels transformative.

The moral of the story is if you can recognise the signs of aging cheese and be able to anticipate and adapt to change, you might find you enjoy it, and at the very least be ready to change quickly in future.

‘The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese’.

Stepping into the unknown can obviously be frightening, but if you can get over the fear there’s no telling what you might do!