“Who Moved My Cheese? The Movie” is a well known training video that is based on the best-selling book of the same title written by Dr. Spencer Johnson. “Who Moved My Cheese? ” is a 13-minute animated video that follows the story of four characters, two of which are mice named Sniff and Scurry, while the other two are little people named Hem and Haw. The four characters are all in search of the good things about life. Their journey for the better serves as a catalyst for them to have different perceptions about their situations, most especially in light of the changes that are happening in their lives.
The characters as well as their stories clearly depict everyday life experiences. As simple as it may appear, Who Moved My Cheese? was able to incorporate within its narrative that theme of change and the defense mechanism used by individuals in order to adapt to those changes. Notably, the film poses three specific questions that can serve as a personal assessment for the viewers: (1) What one thing do you fear? (2) What would you do if you were not afraid? (3) How would your life change if that fear was conquered? Personally, one thing that I am truly afraid of is taking risks.
I always believe that I do not have to patch things that I did not create. I somehow developed a mentality that makes me leave things as they are because deep inside, I know that if I would take the risk of doing something that I am not familiar with, I would not get any good deal out of it. I always thought that taking risks would also mean failure and not the other way around. Due to my fear of taking risk, I usually end up struggling whenever I have to face certain challenges. Instead of overcoming things easily, I further push myself into trouble, and that is the price that I have to pay due to my fear.
Additionally, this fear of mine is the very same thing that holds me back from changing course instead of using it as an opportunity to search for something that would help me succeed. Perhaps, if I were not afraid, I would be just like Haw; I would be able to use my past mistakes in dealing with the future decisions that I make and take risks by stepping forward rather than staying in a useless situation and make nothing out of it. If I were not afraid, I would have conquered my fear and would have spent my time dealing with the mistakes I did.
Likewise, I would be able to come up with the best solutions to the problems that I encounter, and I would have saved a lot of time and energy that I could use for more important things rather than sulking, mulling over my past failures, and putting the blame on others and myself. If I were not afraid, I would develop new beliefs and behaviors that would serve as my weapon in facing new challenges. Once I am able to conquer my fear, I think that life for me would become pretty easy. I will be prepared for the upcoming challenges instead of resisting it.
By conquering my fear, I would also be able to embrace the negative aspects of change and would be able to see all the good things that life has to offer, which can only be attainable by taking risks. More importantly, by surpassing the fears that hinder me from experiencing positive change, I will be able to present my new self to others and share with them a part of me that is strong enough to take risks and inspire them to leave their fear behind. Fear indeed is something that hinders people from becoming the best of who they are, and this was clearly manifested within the movie itself.
No good things will take place if one is always afraid of something. By leaving one’s fear behind, positive changes will take place. As stated by Johnson in his book: “What you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists” (Johnson, 1998, p. 22). References Johnson, S. (1998). Who Moved my Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life. Michigan: University of Michigan. Johnson, S. (1999). Who moved my cheese? The Movie. Provo, Utah: Spencer Johnson Partners