Who Moved My Cheese

本篇选自广为流传的很有意思的畅销书：《谁动了我的奶酪》　

从前，在一个遥远的地方，住着四个小家伙。为了填饱肚子和享受乐趣，他们每天在不远处的一座奇妙的迷宫里跑来跑去，在那里寻找一种叫做“奶酪”的黄橙橙、香喷喷的食物..
 

The book by Dr Spencer Johnson that 　Who moved my cheese features four imaginary characters: “Sniff” and “Scurry” (who are mice) and two little people “Hem” and “Haw”. Cheese is a metaphor for what makes you happy—this is the cheese of life (a good job, health, spiritual peace of mind, a loving relationship) dealing with anticipating, adapting and enjoying change and to be always ready for new changes.

The story goes that the four little characters ran through a maze (the organization) daily, looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. Sniff and Scurry used their instincts and a simple trial-and-error method, while Hem and Haw used their brains, filled with many beliefs and emotions but also learning from past experiences, developing more complicated methods. This often made their lives complicated and challenging.　

The lessons Haw learned which we could use are: 　
1. Laugh at your own folly—then you can let go and quickly move on.　
2. Keep life simple (don’t overanalyze or overcomplicate things).　
3. Envision yourself (in realistic detail) finding something better.　
4. Learn from mistakes made in the past and learn to deal with change.　
5. Do not overcomplicate matters or confuse yourself with fearful beliefs.
6. Notice when little changes began so that you would be better prepared for the big change that might be coming.　
7. If you do not adapt in time, you might as well not adapt at all.　
8. The biggest inhibitor to change lies within yourself and nothing gets better until you change.　
9. There is always new cheese out there, whether you recognize it at the time or not, and you are rewarded with it when you go past your fear and enjoy the adventure.　
10. Some fear should be respected as it keep you out of real danger — most of our fears are often irrational and keep us from changing when we need to.　
11. Change is often a blessing in disguise, as it leads us to finding better cheese.　

[注释]：
Spencer Johnson: （作家）斯宾塞·约翰逊　
imaginary: having existence only in the imagination; unreal 想象的，虚构的　
metaphor: 隐喻　
maze: a graphic puzzle, the solution of which is an uninterrupted path through an intricate pattern
of line segments from a starting point to a goal 迷宫　
instinct: an innate capability or aptitude 本能　
trial-and-error: 尝试后矫正　
complicated: containing intricately combined or involved parts 复杂的　
folly: an act or instance of foolishness 荒唐事，傻念头　
overanalyze or overcomplicate: 分析过度或过度复杂化　
envision: to picture in the mind; imagine 想象，预想　
inhibitor: one that inhibits, as a substance that retards or stops a chemical reaction 抑制剂　
adventure: to engage in hazardous activities; take risks 冒险　
disguise: appearance that misrepresents the true character of something 伪装