What Are You Reading: Who Moved My Cheese

When cooking a roast my mother would trim off both sides of the roast before putting it in the roaster. One day, I asked her why she did that. She said, "that is the way my mother as always done it." So, I called my grandmother and asked her why she trimmed both ends of her roast before cooking it. She also answered, "because that is how my mother has always done it." So, I called my great-grandmother and ask her, why do you trim both ends of the roast before cooking it. She said, "because it didn't fit in the roaster"
 

We are creatures of habits. We will do something again and again because that is the way we have always done it. We rarely stop to evaluate whether it is supported with good reasons, we simply go about our business the same we always have.

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johhson. In this story, there are two mice and two "littlepeople" that live in a maze. Everyday they get up and go to a section of the maze where there is cheese. One day, when they get there, the cheese is not, it's gone. The mice, possessing simple brains and good instinct, do not over analyse the situation and takes off looking for new cheese. The littlepeople have complex brains and emotions, one gets angry and shout about the unfairness of it all, the other was quiet and in denial. The next day, they go again, hoping the cheese will miraculously be back, but it's not. They analyse the situation, discuss what happened to the cheese, but ultimately they do nothing.

This book is an amazing little book about dealing with change in your work and in your life. It is less then a hundred pages, so perfect for a quick read; no excuses.

It reminds me of the stock market. How many of us, invest in mutual funds? How many of us saw the whole of our investment dwindle to crumbs in the crash of 2008? Some of us weren't able to retire as planned. Now how many of us, knowing the risk in the stock market, are still contributing to those mutual funds every month or year, hoping it will there when we need it? Aren't we like the littlepeople going back to the same spot looking for the cheese that is gone?

If you haven't already, read this book.