Who Moved My Cheese? is a philosophical video that generates a lot of reasoning in my mind. The story of events takes place in a kind of maze where four actors search for a piece of Cheese. The maze represents the world, including work, home, church, and community. In turn, Cheese symbolizes everything a person strives for in life, including a good job, money, home, freedom, health, recognition, peace of mind, and even entertainment – art, music, sports, and travel. Two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two little people, Hem and Haw, find themselves face to face with change, and each reacts differently. Thus, the author shows the behavior of people in a constantly changing reality.
After analyzing the features of each hero, some of them can be found in oneself, which is revealed to a greater or lesser extent in a particular situation. Nevertheless, in general, in my life, I am like Scurry, who reacts to potential changes in life as soon as they occur. I am a very hardworking person who does work from morning to evening. I rarely think about change in advance, although I am aware of the likelihood of its occurrence. Therefore, when change comes, I adapt to them and move on.
Particularly noteworthy is writing on the wall, which prompts new thoughts. The first inscription on the wall says that change happens. Sometimes people run away from them, naively thinking that everything can be left as it is. However, changes in life still occur, whether people want it or not, leaving them the right to accept them and live on or stubbornly try to stay in the past. In this regard, the second inscription, anticipate change, is particularly important. This readiness will allow a person to adapt faster and minimize stress. At the same time, it is essential to change along with the environment since the acceptance of new external conditions without changing internal values threatens cognitive dissonance.
An equally significant aspect is the search for positive change, which corresponds to the inscription “enjoy change.” It is vital to look for opportunities in changing circumstances systematically. Emotionally, the human brain usually sees the bad, negative, and hardship first. That is why one should look wider and find opportunities to always take advantage of. It is noteworthy that opportunities and challenges go hand in hand. If during changes, even difficult ones, a person can learn and develop something and not just go with the flow, then life will become much more successful and happier in the future. Everyone knows that not all change is positive or necessary. However, living in a world subject to constant change, it is helpful to resort to tools that will help one be ready for changes in different areas of life and not be afraid of them.
Thus, this video gives an understanding that changes are inevitable. They happen whether people are waiting for them or not, whether they are ready for them or not. Moreover, they are necessary because there is no development without movement. I like the words of Haw: “Life moves on. And so should we” (Montgomery, 2017). The video helps to change the attitude towards changes, stop being afraid of them if a person believes or even knows that somewhere there is a new Cheese that is waiting.
Reference
Montgomery, S. (2017). Who moved my cheese — audio book [Video]. YouTube. Web.