Staying steady when life plays hide-and-seek with our plans

Picture this: you’ve saved the last slice of cheesecake. You open the fridge—and it’s gone. First comes anger, then sulking, then realization: life doesn’t always keep things where we left them.

That’s the heart of Spencer Johnson’s Who Moved My Cheese? The “cheese” is what we long for—success, love, stability, peace. The “maze” is our unpredictable world. When the cheese moves, how do we respond?

Four Ways to React
The story’s four characters mirror us:

• Sniff notices change early.
• Scurry acts fast, without overthinking.
• Hem denies change, staying stuck.
• Haw hesitates, then adapts and grows.

In real life, Sniff is the student learning new skills before change hits. Scurry adjusts quickly. Hem clings to “how things were.” Haw laughs, learns late, but grows stronger.

Emotional Stability: Our Real Cheese
Life’s maze moments—friendships fading, plans failing, exams going wrong, or pandemics striking—can shake us. The outer cheese will move, but inner cheese—our emotional balance—keeps us grounded.

Preparedness means training the mind to say: “This wasn’t expected, but I can handle it.”

The Playbook

1. Be Sniff: notice early signs.
2. Be Scurry: take small steps.
3. Don’t be Hem: the past won’t return.
4. Be Haw: laugh, learn, adapt.
5. Stock inner cheese: mindfulness, gratitude, journaling.

Final Slice
Life’s cheese will keep moving—exams, jobs, even relationships. But inner calm is ours to carry. When we stay resilient and adaptable, every turn in the maze can lead to better cheese.