Who Moved My Cheese?, a book written by Dr. Spencer Johnson, M.D. is the story of two cute-as-a-button mice, Sniff and Scurry, as they navigate a maze to find their cheese. It is a simple parable about change; different attitudes toward facing and successfully dealing with the inevitability of change.
In fact, in my previous life, I sold the video version (as did many of you readers) and even attended a change workshop where the video program was the main training content. But nothing prepared me for the actual harsh reality of dealing with this specific change. Heed my cautionary tale.
Yesterday at 11:45 AM I went to the refrigerator to get the ingredients for a grilled cheese sandwich, my choice for lunch. I opened the first drawer in the refrigerator and glanced to the upper right corner where the slices of sharp cheddar normally reside but alas, there was no cheese to be found. As I staved off my initial panic, wiping the sweat from my brow, I began frantically searching from the top of the butter tray to the frigid nether regions where the seldom used brown sugar is stored. No Cheese. My first thought, LINDA!
I kept my emotions in check and casually asked, “Linda, have you seen the sharp cheddar?” She quickly replied with no fluctuation in her voice, “Nope.” Oh, she was as cool as a cucumber but I was not to be deterred from my quest. I asked her to sit in my chair and I shone the light from my iPhone directly into her eyes, the purpose for which it was created, I believe. “Let me ask you again, COMRADE, have you seen the cheese?” Without as much as a flinch she replied “Did you look in all the drawers including the bottom one where you may be required to bend at the waist?” (A skill which has diminished with my age and weight).
I smugly replied “Yes, I did, and it’s not there!” She responded fast as lightning “Did you move anything, like perhaps the alfalfa sprouts you insist on buying but rarely eat?” I stealthily moved to the refrigerator, all the while keeping an eye on her to make sure she did not slip from my clutches. I opened the vegetable bin, moved the sprouts and there, tucked neatly in the corner was the vacuum-sealed package of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar! Eureka I exclaimed, but silently, only in my mind so as not to betray my thoughts.
A quick mental assessment of the situation convinced me asking her to make me the grilled cheese might not lead to my desired outcome, so instead of humiliating myself I matter-of-factly said “You may go.”
Although I could tell she was masking great relief at being vindicated, she left the room shaking her head and commented “You really need to get a hobby!”