To start this paper, I initially typed in every one of Haw's motivational wall writings. I then analyzed them as they related to Johnson's message, my life, and to each other. Now, after writing this paper, I can assert that this story appeals to its audience on a level much more personal than their career. The story assists one's self in diminishing a fear of change. It is this core purpose that has the potential to influence the many facets of a human's life, be it in the workplace, love, or another achievement. It is through this personal appeal that I will write my reaction to the text.
Spencer Johnson originally wrote his short story "Who Moved My Cheese" as personal encouragement to help himself through his own life. After realizing how well it applied to his situation, he published the book to a worldwide audience, which responded to it in high esteem. While I do recognize the value in this book and agree with Johnson on many of the issues it addresses, some ideas Johnson presents could prove fatal to the worldwide audience captivated by them.
Almost every human being, if asked the question "What makes you happy?" would respond in words such as success, money, comfort and true love. Johnson utilizes this anticipated response in his book by cleverly summarizing every possible answer into one word. Throughout the story, Johnson equates anything that makes us happy with Cheese. The two serve the same purpose and are interchangable. Any mention of Cheese is also a reference to the desire for happiness in the human mind. He declares this in his book via one of Haw's wall carvings: "Having Cheese makes you happy." (Johnson 30) With this knowledge, we can continue our analysis of the text.
Disregarding the story of the hi...
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...nge. I ignored it, comparable to Hem and his "Cheeseless situation," referencing Haw's writing concerning the safer nature of looking for happiness after a given change instead of remaining attatched to one's life before the change. It is compelling to note that I did not begin to relinquish my fears and accept the change until I finished reading Johnson's short story. I realized that if I did not change, I would become extinct, my reality as a person enjoying happiness would cease to exist. I adapted to the opportunity that this book presented to me.
In conclusion, Johnson's book "Who Moved My Cheese," should not be accepted at the literal level. It requires a deeper analysis. However, once this understanding is reached, this book is capable of helping people achieve happiness.
1. Johnson, Spencer / "Who Moved My Cheese"
2. Grady, Victoria / Lecture One and Two
...the narrator and all people a way of finding meaning in their pains and joys. The two brothers again can live in brotherhood and harmony.
The poem describes workers to be “Killing the overtime ‘cause the dream is your life, / Refusing to take holidays or go home to your spouse, / But for many the overtime comes, ‘cause the work is not done. / Deadlines to be met. So you continue to dream like a war vet, / Having flashbacks to make you shiver and scream” (Jones, stanza 7, lines 2-6). Jones reinforces that overworking for an incentive of money does not give one a sense of gratification, and it also distracts them from the values that should matter more to them than anything else. Both Kohn and Jones have a similar approach to showing the reader the effect that overworking can have on a person, and how it will change their values in life, causing unhappiness. Many students go through school dispirited and do not join various clubs and activities for their own enjoyment. A friend of Kohn’s who was also a high school guidance counsellor had a student with ‘…amazing grade and board scores. It remained only to knock out a dazzling essay on his college applications that would clinch the sale. “Why don’t we start with some books that
Every person is likely to feel a sense of discontentment at some point . This feeling could stem from many different aspects of a person’s life such as their job, house, financial situation, etc, and this in turn inspires an incentive to do something else with their life. In “Saturday at the Canal” , Gary Soto utilizes various literary devices including imagery, symbolism, and personification. These literary devices serve to convey the feeling of desire and motivation to pursue life’s journey.
A life filled with purpose brings happiness. My definition of happiness is a life that has a drive to succeed and a drive to be happy. This drive or purpose can come from several aspects of one's life, such as careers, hobbies, and relationships. Mandel's Station Eleven portrays this well through the character of Jeevan Chuadhery. Within the first ten pages of the book, Jeevan encounters a life changing moment that reveals what he wants to do in his life. Jeevan also dwells on many memories of him and his brother of the pre-disaster world of the book. His career and family are the main sources of his happiness. Jeevan and I both have the same source of happiness, which comes from fulfilling our purpose in life and family.
While buried, so deep beneath the cavity of adversity, finding hope is nearly impossible. But, it is the ability of decisions that aids as the last gleam of hope retrievable. After facing many struggles, it becomes almost involuntary for someone to put up a guard. With using that strategy, and the transgression of time without progress, there’s a certain ignition of comprehension. Change needs to occur, and a complete remedy of that
2) This idea is an autobiographical exploration, because in order to have a positive approach to life’s challenges, you must realize who you are as a person. One of the most challenging aspects in life is this concept of self. Who am I, am I what I do, where I spend my time? When I was younger, I was looking for myself in all the wrong places. I did many experimental things in my journey of
	"It mattered that education was changing me. It never ceased to matter. My brother and sisters would giggle at our mother’s mispronounced words. They’d correct her gently. My mother laughed girlishly one night, trying not to pronounce sheep as ship. From a distance I listened sullenly. From that distance, pretending not to notice on another occasion, I saw my father looking at the title pages of my library books. That was the scene on my mind when I walked home with a fourth-grade companion and heard him say that his parents read to him every night. (A strange sounding book-Winnie the Pooh.) Immediately, I wanted to know, what is it like?" My companion, however, thought I wanted to know about the plot of the book. Another day, my mother surprised me by asking for a "nice" book to read. "Something not too hard you think I might like." Carefully I chose one, Willa Cather’s My ‘Antonia. But when, several weeks later, I happened to see it next to her bed unread except for the first few pages, I was furious and suddenly wanted to cry. I grabbed up the book and took it back to my room and placed it in its place, alphabetically on my shelf." (p.626-627)
During a time of hardship or of economic difficulties, each person draws back into their personal space and takes no notice of others. Ignorance often leads to misunderstandings. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, two men went go a new farm in search of new opportunities and a chance to fulfill their dream. Of Mice and Men is also a heartbreaking story of how such misunderstandings can lead to unfortunate events. John Steinbeck uses a disapproving voice to criticize the mistreatment of social rejects and show that misunderstanding can lead to adverse outcomes.
Happiness, the state of being happy; it is a part of natural human emotion. Happiness is sought out by everyone, as it is one of the most fundamental values of life. It can be as small as going back home after school or as big as winning a lottery. My personal definition of happiness is the simplest things such as spending time with my friends, getting a little break in between studying, listening to my favorite songs, or getting a good mark on a quiz or a test. Similarly, the individuals in the texts had pursued or wanted to pursue happiness through simplest things in life. In the poem “Swing Valley” the writer is reminiscing about the time when him and his friends experienced joy by carelessly swinging on a rope enjoying the momentary release from the gravity. Secondly, the individual from the short story “Home Place” by Guy Vanderhaeghe, also reminisces about his happiness he pursued in his youth and
In society, the line between happiness and pleasure has been blurred for ages. It can be difficult for one to determine the difference between true happiness and pleasure. Although pleasure is a key component in determining one’s happiness, pleasure provides one with short-term satisfaction, which almost always seems to fade, leaving emptiness within. Happiness, on the other hand, provides one with long-lasting satisfaction that seems to endure through the good as well as the bad. In effect, pleasure’s deception can lead one astray from the achievement of true happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald realized this concept, which he emphasized it in his novel, The Great Gatsby.
The word happiness comes from the word happy, which means to feel or show pleasure or contentment. In the novel, “The Joy Luck Club”, two daughters of the mothers in Joy Luck Club begin to compete with each other. Waverly Jong, is a child chess prodigy. June Woo, struggles to master the piano. The rivalry reflects values of success and worth depicted in the novel, “The Joy Luck Club”. In this novel, happiness does not truly come from the word happy.
at the time I read this, I still got much from the reading. Haught, in this book, did the
Who Moved My Cheese?, by Spencer Johnson, is a parable that shows how individuals deal with change differently. In this story the four characters, two mice named Sniff and Scurry and two little people, about the size of mice, named Hem and Haw. These four are in a maze searching for cheese; the cheese is a metaphor for the things that make feel complete. The maze represents the environment such as the earth, employment, home, family, or whatever is associated with the change.
DONKIN, R (2001) Blood, Sweat and Tears: The Evolution of Work London: Texere. (Ch. 11 – Western Electric Discovers Motivation).
In my life time I have accomplished many extraordinary tasks that I’ve put my mind too. I discovered that my signature themes have greatly affected the methods that I use to complete these tasks. People use their strengths in everyday life as well as in crucial, life changing situations. Important self-building achievement is one factor that makes people who they are. Another is the way that people apply there strengths to different situations.