16 Life Lessons From Spencer Johnson

Lessons 1 : The Changes move your cheese!
Each of us has our own idea of what Cheese is, and we pursue it because we believe it makes us happy. If we get it, we often become attached to it. And if we lose it, or it’s taken away, it can be traumatic. The Cheese parable works best when everyone in the organization knows about it, because an organization can only change when enough people in it change.

Lessons 2 : When you move beyond your fear, you feel free
The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists. What you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine. When you change what you believe, you change what you do.

Lessons 3 : Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It is Getting Old
It had the signs that the Cheese was changing. Pile was getting smaller. Some of the cheese did not taste good old Cheese had mold.The change probably would not have taken us by surprise if we have been watching what was happening all along and if we have anticipated change. 

Lessons 4 : Movement in A New Direction Helps You Find New Cheese
We have to fight our fears while in the maze, we will feel best when we are moving. It is safer to search in the maze than remain in a cheeseless situation.We have to race through the Maze with greater strength & agility. Until we find bits of New Cheese. Sometimes we enter the new Cheese Station but it is empty, because someone has already been there. 

Lessons 5 : The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find New Cheese
We need to let go of our fears, realize what lies out there could be a lot better, not worse. We should be alert in order to anticipate change, and next time, periodically smell the cheese to check if it is getting old, and to learn to tell ourselves : GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE.

Lessons 6 : When you see that you can find and enjoy New Cheese, you change course.
We had been holding onto the illusion of old cheese that was no longer there. We have to change as soon as we learn to laugh at our own mistakes, then we can be able to let go and move on. Keep our life simple! When we don’t overanalyze or overcomplicate things, we simply move with the cheese.

Lessons 7 : You cannot always control external events, but you can control you personal Peaks and Valleys by what you believe and what you do.
Peaks and Valleys are not just the good and bad times that happen to you. They are also how you feel inside and respond to outside events.” 

Lessons 8 :You can have fewer bad times when you appreciate and manage your good times wisely.
Find and use the good hidden in the bad time
Relax, knowing valleys end.
Do the opposite of what put you in the valley.
Get outside of yourself; be of more service at work
And more loving in life. Uncover the good that is hidden
In a bad time, and use it to your advantage. 
"What if we went back to the basics? What if we spent more time together?... Would we in fact, feel a lot more calm and peaceful because we got back to the basics?" -The Author-

Lessons 9 : Peaks and Valleys are connected. The errors you make in today’s good times create tomorrow’s bad times.
“ The errors you make in today’s good times create tomorrow’s bad times. And the wise things you do in today’s bad times create tomorrow’s good times. People who use a Peaks and Valleys approach during bad times make things better when they return to basics, and concentrate on what matters most.”

Lessons 10 : Make Reality Your Friend
Make reality your friend
Whether you are temporarily up on a Peak or down in a Valley, ask yourself: What is the truth in the situation?
"If you make your decisions based on the truth, you're going to come out in very good shape." -The Author-

Lessons 11 : We can make good use of our time in the Valley. There are valuable lessons to be learned in the Valley and, you can’t stay on the Peak if you are not prepared.
The most common reason you leave a Peak too soon is arrogance, masquerading as confidence. The most common reason you stay in a Valley too long is fear, masquerading as comfort.

Lessons 12 : Have you ever noticed that your life is filled with ups and downs? It is never all ups or all downs.
The path out of a valley appears when you choose to see things differently. Between Peaks there are always Valleys. How you manage your Valley determines how soon you reach your next Peak.
Empty
Full

Lessons 13 : A great way to get to you next Peak is to follow you sensible vision. 
Follow your sensible vision
Imagine yourself enjoying a better future in such specific, believable detail that you soon enjoy doing what takes you there.
“Is what I'm doing raising or lowering my energy? Am I feeling more calm or more stressed? Am I getting better or worse results? If you're getting the negative answers, then you know you're not being true to what you need.” -The Author-

Lessons 14 : To stay in a Peak longer : Be humble and grateful. Do more of what got you there. Keep making things better. Do more for others. Save resources for your upcoming Valleys.
Appreciate and manage your good time
Be humble and grateful.
Do more of what got you there.
Keep making things better. Do more for others.
Save your resources for your upcoming valleys.
“If you are humble enough to remember that you're only part of the peak and you're only part of the valley, then you start getting a more realistic perspective.”
The Author

Lessons 15 : The pain in a Valley can wake you up to a truth you have been ignoring.
If you do not learn in a Valley, you can become bitter. If you truly learn something valuable, you can become better.A plateau can be a time for you to rest, reflect and renew.

Lessons 16 : Help people make good and bad times work for them too. Share it with other!
“The single most powerful way to share Peaks and Valleys with those that you work with and live with is look at the principles and the practical tools and use them yourself.”
The Author

Understand and apply all these wisdoms to successfully navigate the peaks and valleys of your life at work and at home. Recognize and utilize the positive that is so often hidden in the bad times. Appreciate and capitalize on your good times, and you will find the new cheese there!!!


















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