Chinwendu Nze, Author
4 min readNov 1, 2023

SUMMARY OF WHO MOVED MY CHEESE BY SPENCER JOHNSON

SUMMARY OF WHO MOVED MY CHEESE BY SPENCER JOHNSON

This is a simple but enlightening story that captures four characters: Sniff and Scurry (the mice) and Hem and Hur (the little people). Cheese was used as a metaphor for what we want in life: a good job, money, relationships, etc. The Maze, on the other hand, serves as where you look for what you want: your workplace, the community you live in, your family, etc.

They often run to the maze in search of different kinds of cheese that appeal to them. Sniff and Scurry have a well-developed instinct, while the little people rely on their brains and emotions to make their decisions.

They found a large stack of Cheese at Cheese Station C. They all continue to run there every morning to get their fill of cheese. The mice often tie their running shoes together and hang them on their necks in readiness for any change that might occur. After a while, Hem and Hur’s attitude changed into arrogance toward success. They started regarding the cheese as their cheese. They no longer ran to the cheese station, and they did not notice some changes that started occurring.

One day, Scurry and Sniff got to the station as early as usual and noticed that there was no longer cheese in the station. Having observed the changes that started occurring, they were able to move on to find new cheese without overthinking the situation. Sniff sniffed to know the direction they would go and Scurry scurried off in the direction looking for new cheese

But when Hur and Hem got there and discovered that the cheese had finished, they were highly disappointed because they weren’t prepared for what happened. They already regard the cheese as theirs and have never imagined that it would finish one day. Hem continued yelling who moved my cheese, and Hur on the other side completely turned off by the obvious.

Their reaction to the empty cheese station that morning was a result of their thinking that cheese is what they need to be happy.

For some people, finding cheese means having material things. For others, it means enjoying good health or developing a spiritual sense of well-being.

But for Haw, cheese just meant feeling safe, having a loving family, and living in a cozy cottage on Cheddar Lane. To Hem on the other hand, Cheese was becoming a big boss in charge of others and owning a big house atop Camembert Hill.

Because cheese was important to them, they spent a longer time trying to figure out what to do. They stayed in that cheeseless station day after day, hoping that somehow their cheese would return, but it never did. Hem had already developed an entitlement mentality because he kept shouting. “This is not fair; it is our cheese.”

One day Hur decided to move on after reasoning within himself: “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid? He realized that the only option for him was to get going, and he tried to convince Hem but he wouldn’t budge, saying he would get to the bottom of the matter.

So Hur took off, still scared, of course, but he kept talking to himself, “Where am I likely to find cheese, here or in the Maze? When you move beyond fear, you feel free; old beliefs do not lead to new cheese.

When you see or imagine that you can find cheese, you change because noticing small changes early helps you adapt to bigger changes. It takes reflection on past mistakes to be prepared for the future, and movement in a new direction helps you find cheese. Nothing gets better until you change. There is always a new cheese out there, whether you realize it or not. Adapt to change quickly; if you do not change, you can become extinct. Better late than never; stay more alert; expect change and adapt to it; smell new cheese often to know when it is growing old; you can believe that change can harm you or that change can lead you into new cheese.”

When he released his fears, he became better. He started imagining himself in the middle of a new cheese, and he proceeded to a corridor that was new to him and found the largest pile of cheese he had ever seen in his life, though Sniff and Scurry were already there because they changed with the change.

How does this brilliant and timeless story mirror your life now?

#whomovedmycheese #summary #reminder #personalgrowth #selfleadership #authenticity

Chinwendu Nze, Author

Author| Writer and Authenticity Advocate | Teaching the Art of Living with Authenticity and Wholeness | Stories and Great Reads #authenticity #spirituality