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Hey! Who moved my cheese?!

If you haven’t read Spencer Johnson’s Who Moved My Cheese?, I urge you to go to the nearest bookstore to buy a copy or purchase a copy online. Now is the perfect time to read this since it’s a new year and you will most likely experience change–some are good, some are uncomfortable.

Time for change?

I used to be a scaredy cat. I avoided responsibilities, I refused commitments, I basically said no to anything that could make me uncomfortable sooner or later. I was quite content in my comfort zone. But when I boxed myself in my comforts, I also prevented opportunities from reaching me.

Thankfully, I found the guts to get out of my comfort zone and opened myself up to the universe. And that’s all thanks to a book.

A few years back, as I was rummaging through the bookstore for interesting reads, I chanced upon Spencer Johnson’s Who Moved My Cheese? I read the teaser at the back and thought it would be a good read for the summer. Little did I know that the book I randomly picked at the bookstore would radically change how I approach life.

The book can be applied to any aspect of your life. Your cheese can be anything: your career, your love life, even your biggest dream. What it made me realize is that change is inevitable and all we can really do is adapt and move along with it, no matter how uncomfortable or scary it may be.

The good news is, the more resilient you become to change, the easier it is to let go of your cheese so you can find new cheese. All it takes is a conscious mental shift. Curious about what I’m talking about? Grab a copy! (This isn’t a sponsored post, fyi. I just highly recommend that you read this book!)

I’m sharing some of my favorite quotes from the book. I wrote all of these down to remind me to never be afraid of change:

“The More Important Your Cheese Is To You The More You Want To Hold On To It.”

“The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese.”

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

“Sometimes, Hem, things change and they are never the same again. This looks like one of those times. That’s life! Life moves on. And so should we.”

“Being in the uncomfortable zone is much better than staying in the cheese-less situation.”

Towards the end of 2015, we received news of an impending change. A big one. Arjay, after four years of being assigned in the province of Rizal where we reside, will be reassigned to another province four hours away from where we live. (I know, it isn’t like he’s being transferred to Mindanao. But still!)

The order takes effect today.

My first reaction was, “How unfair! There are so many other officers they can get, why him?” Thoughts of the new change filled my mind. Will he need to move there and leave us behind? How will we re-establish our norm? How will I take care of the minis on my own?

It took me a couple of days before I finally learned to embrace this change. I took charge of my fears and worries and looked at the opportunities that await my husband. A new assignment means a new designation, new colleagues, new experiences. Perhaps this is the change we needed in our life–the push he needed to further improve on his knowledge and skills in the fire service; the push I needed to stand up on my own (because I got too comfy having Arjay around to do almost everything for me).

It’s difficult to accept the change, of course, especially now that the minis are becoming more observant and demanding of our time and presence. Their questions are getting harder to answer too. Like, Why can’t Daddy be with us on New Year’s Eve? I remember when Arjay had to leave for duty during the holidays and he asked The Princess for what she wants him to bring her when he returns and she answered, “Just come home, Daddy.”

But life is constantly changing and we need to continue moving with it, no matter how difficult it is to do so. We haven’t told the minis about their dad’s new assignment, and I know it’ll be hard to get them to accept that change, but we’ll just have to help them understand why.

It’s time that we let go of old cheese and look for new cheese. The transition will be uncomfortable, but it’ll be over at some point. We’ll find our balance again, and expect the cycle to continue.

“When you move beyond your fears, you feel free!”

What changes are you going through in your life right now?
How are you coping? Share your thoughts!

Kimberley Reyes

Kimberley Reyes is an Online Business Manager for entrepreneurs who are ready to get off the hamster wheel and step into their CEO shoes. On top of helping her clients get organized and scale their businesses, she is also happily busy raising her five kids with her firefighter husband.

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