THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 - ATTITUDE AND CHEESE

 THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 - ATTITUDE

I started this week by looking at getting out of our comfort zone (and a small investment in cryptocurrencies).  Tuesday I looked at the opposite side - from Ecclesiastes chapter 1 - “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” (I can’t accept that everything is meaningless).  Wednesday (yesterday) I started a look at attitudes.

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Today, a review of “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson

The little book (about 98 pages) has four characters - two mice (, and two tiny humans.  They live in a maze.  One day the four of them found cheese (their favorite food).  They moved to that location and lived on the cheese.  

After a while, however, the cheese starts to run out. One day, when it disappears, Sniff and Scurry understand that their situation has changed and they decide to go in search of new cheese. Hem and Haw, on the other hand, stick around the same spot, looking for cheese and hoping it will reappear. While they are arguing about what to do and ranting about the injustice of their situation, Sniff and Scurry succeed in finding another Cheese Station in the maze.

Despite his fears about venturing into the unknown, Haw eventually decides to leave Hem and go in search of new cheese, too. It’s a long journey, but he is exhilarated by the search for something new. Along the way, he reflects on his situation and what he has learned about adapting to change. Haw writes these maxims about change along the wall of the maze in the hope that they might encourage Hem. Eventually, Haw finds a new, plentiful Cheese Station. Although he wants to help Hem, he realizes that no one else can make Hem change.

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Basic Ideas:

1. Change is an inevitable and constant part of life.

2. Anticipating change can help you better handle it when it occurs.

3. Letting go of old ways and habits can help you adapt to change and embrace new opportunities.

4. Fear is immobilizing and can stop you from embracing new opportunities.

5. Visualizing success and happiness can help you focus on what you can gain rather than what you’ve lost

6. It’s important to stay in touch with areas outside your comfort zone so you know what’s happening around you and are ready for changes if and when they occur.

(Taken from: https://instaread.co/insights/business-economics-leadership-management/who-moved-my-cheese-book/

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“Stuff Happens”.  In “Who Moved My Cheese” - the “stuff” that happened was that the cheese in the location ran out.  The mice scurried around looking for a new supply, while the tiny humans did not.

In the United States, there are (supposedly) many “Ghost towns”.  Generally, some precious metal (frequently gold) was discovered at a location, a town sprung up, the gold was dug out of the earth, refined and made a great profit. And, eventually, the gold ore runs out.  Some people stayed in the town thinking that another seam of gold would be found.  The ones who left moved on to other gold mines and locations (or gave up on gold mining and went into other fields/jobs). The ones who didn’t leave had “roots” in the location.  Maybe they had built a house, built a business - they couldn’t just leave the town.  So, they hung on - believing that “soon” more gold would be found.  But, no more gold was found, and other than a few people who refused to leave, the town disappeared.  Maybe the few that were left became sheepherders or some work they could do “until the new gold strike happened”.

Like the two tiny humans in the book they somehow believed was a temporary situation.

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Thoughts: (see above)

Point 1: Change is an inevitable and constant part of life. The gold is going to run out.  The land isn’t going to yield anymore (maybe global warming has changed the rain patterns and the land becomes a desert).  You are going to lose your job to new technologies (like AI)

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Point 2: Anticipating change can help you better handle it when it occurs.

I know a lot of farmers.  My son is an agriculture news person in Nebraska and follows the trends.  Many farms in Nebraska use underground aquifers and irrigate their crops.  But, what happens when the aquifers dry up (from too much use and not enough replenishment)? 

In the “dirty 30s” dust storms and drought swept across the great plains.  “Okies” (and others) migrated to California - and some remained.  Of those who stayed, they learned to conserve water, they learned to plant different crops, and they learned better farming concepts.

In “Who Moved My Cheese” the mice scampered to find new sources of cheese, while the tiny humans waited for the cheese supply to “magically” come back.  

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Point 3: Letting go of old ways and habits can help you adapt to change and embrace new opportunities. In the ‘dust bowl”, some learned of alternate crops and better management of water resources. 

In human terms, the adage “When life gives you lemons, you learn to make (and sell) lemonade”. 

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Point 4: Fear is immobilizing and can stop you from embracing new opportunities.  So what happens when change occurs?  Are you like the mice scurrying to find new sources of cheese or like the tiny humans - somehow believing that it is just a temporary situation.

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Point 5: Visualizing success and happiness can help you focus on what you can gain rather than what you’ve lost.  (This is the attitude lesson for today).  You can wring your hands and say “Oh woe is me”, or you can get up and get moving.  Can you learn to be happy no matter what the situation is?  Can you picture success, picture succeeding in the new situation?  Maybe instead of gold mines you can find silver, uranium, or lithium? 

Maybe you have become “blind” and do see the solutions that exist.  Maybe the farmer can plant sunflowers and get sunflower oil?  Maybe the farmer can make his/her land into a hunting preserve and let the deer and the antelopes (and pheasants) play? 

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Point 6: 

It’s important to stay in touch with areas outside your comfort zone so you know what’s happening around you and are ready for changes if and when they occur.

Change happens - and successful people adapt to the change.

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Six years ago, I had a major health issue that changed all my plans (some of which were in ways that I didn’t anticipate or understand).  We throw around the phrase “It is what it is”.  But, we don’t have to accept the situation - we can get out and find new “cheese”, we can change our attitude and GROW!!!

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LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

KAREN ANNE WHITE, © MAY 25, 2023