When The Cheese Moves: Protecting Your Mental Health During Times Of Change & Uncertainty

If you have ever studied business at tertiary level, you might be familiar with a book called Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson. You would be forgiven for thinking that the author would be psychic, as this book (and hence the metaphor of your cheese being moved) is heavily, unfairly, and relatably relevant today as it has ever been. Change is, and has always been constant. In these current times of economic and geopolitical change - uncertainty, tension and perhaps some pleasant surprises in the right direction means that the cheese is constantly being moved. The mouse has to expend more time and energy to find that displaced cheese in ensuring that satiety levels are met - same with us humans, as frustrating or as enlightening as that is. (Think of some other gourmet food if you don't like cheese for whatever reason.)

"Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism leads to power." - William James

Hence the idea and title of this article. Everything that arises passes and fades away. That is a given, yet change feels more accelerated than ever before across all systems and personal circumstances. You could (metaphorically speaking of course) still be living under a rock to know this, but most of all to feel this. Who Moved My Cheese? Something borrowed, something blue.

Having your cheese moved is a term that also carries empathy, that implies hope, and that you are being seen and heard amongst change, disruption, chaos, systems collapsing, and uncertainty. It's appealing. Why? The way you apply for jobs today is completely different and strategic to what it would have been even a short six months ago. The way you make decisions, like it is a full cost benefit analysis is significant, as the cost of getting burnt is way deeper today than it has ever been. You could dodge a few more bullets by being forced to slow down.

On this, where has your cheese been moved, particularly over the last few years?

Health

I personally know that my body is incredibly different to what it was a year ago. Chronic illness, breaking bones, and burnout. My proverbial cheese was the assumption that my health would remain stable, being a fit, athletic person who eats and sleeps well. I personally never knew that I would ever need Private Health Insurance. How wrong was I. Thankfully, I have now fully recovered from recent burnout, mental illness, chronic illness, and an ankle fracture to help and inspire others on the path to recovery and healing; although on some days my energy levels are questionable, and more preventative bloodwork is (unfortunately) on the cards. That is what my new business is structured around. However my body is still doing its utmost to adapt to this new normal. You cannot return to the life you had before. The way you move, work and live drastically changes in becoming more sustainable to avoid overwork, where the definition of success and ambition radically changes.

Your cheese is also moved when you have to suddenly navigate ageing parents and relatives, long-term chronic illness with no recovery, disability, recovery from surgery, recovery from an injury, menopause, and long-term fatigue to name. Of course these disruptions to your life cause mental health challenges, as you are grieving the life and the body you once had. The scorecards have moved.

Work/Business/Career

Jobs that were once "safe and secure" can be wiped out with a random 30-minute zoom call, or waking up to find that you cannot login to work related systems. Regardless as to how familiar you are with AI - nearly everyone knows that AI is clearly a disruptor to the way people work and live. Critical thinking skills are beginning to diminish. Head to any job site, and within hours you learn that freshly posted jobs have already attracted a high application volume, or on LinkedIn over 100 people have already clicked apply; even for a job that is not fully secure, and that cannot meet a persons full financial obligations. How do you compete with more than 100 applicants for each job?

Mass layoffs attract career pivots in order to survive, and then to gain meaning in something new. Many people have no choice but to consider a portfolio or fractional career, meaning that these people need to take on extra side jobs and side hustles in order to meet their financial obligations. According to Forbes, in 2026 thus far (as at the time of writing) around 36-40% of adults across all age groups are actually taking on an extra job or side hustle to supplement their income. In Australia, those statistics increase to 55%. The "cheese" of predictability has clearly been moved.

Of course, it is natural for people to ask themselves if their skills, experiences, qualifications, references, attitudes and strong work ethic matters in these extraordinary and shifting times. And if AI is set to take their job next, and how would that look like.

Relationships

Separation, breakups and divorce in relationships has always been a thing - yet people are beginning to question the values of marriage and romantic relationships when the struggle to stay afloat with the basics is questioned. In Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the basic needs of food, shelter, clothing and safety (also includes nervous system safety) always needs to come before the need for belonging and human connections. Friendships are evolving due to a number of factors ranging from fatigue to screen time and work overload in order to survive before thriving. Despite being hyper connected to the world at large, loneliness is clearly a problem.

For any parent, your cheese is being moved when your adult children finally decide to leave the nest, or thanks to the cost of living crisis, deciding to return to the nest in order to save up as much money as they can in order to move out again.

In any long-term romantic relationship; the aim is for the relationship to be longer lasting, yet people change, and therefore hearts can and do change. We do not stay with the same mate forever. And when you go back out dating on these swipe left and swipe right dating apps; fatigue is so real. Why? Due to the sheer volume and the algorithms causing more addiction to the screens. You would be lucky if your date showed up to dinner.

Add in identity shifts (it is normal to question your identity with losses and times of significant change and uncertainty); the AI revolution outside of business (turning the Internet upside down); economic pressure, climate anxiety and information overload (even if you are well disciplined on your screen and news watching time); therefore there are no surprises as to why our psychological, physical and emotional bandwidth is stretched way too wide right now. And that causes mental illness, or a little bit of situational anxiety. We were once promised that working hard and smart simultaneously would guarantee financial and life security, as well as stability.

In a world of constant disruptions, the cheese is not simply moving. It is constantly moving, and you would feel like you have won the lottery if you found some crumbs along the way.

The tone of this article is not to be negative. It is to raise awareness, and to allow validation. Nothing is wrong with you if some days (if not most or every day of the week) you are feeling a little different; a little out of sorts. This is why. I've broken it up into key life areas. It is naturally a shock to find yourself experiencing two operations/surgeries (one being an emergency) under general anaesthesia in a space of 3-4 months, despite having no operations for 36 years prior. And then a layoff to shake things up a few months later. Of course you will question life, your purpose, identity and belief systems when life has been heavily disrupted and shaken. That is healthy.

Naturally, in wanting to improve your mental health and/or to get your mental health back of track; it is fair and appropriate to ask yourself how you can stop your cheese being moved. That is a quality question that aligns with the well of positivity. Being grateful for the parts of your life that are bringing you joy, abundance and happiness is super helpful, in cultivating an attitude of gratitude.

"Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly." - Julie Andrews

Moreover, what if resilience isn't learning how to hold onto the cheese, however learning how to navigate life calmly and with grace when the cheese keeps moving?

Personally I am in awe, and hence inspired to move forward and increase my levels of resilience with my life in hard, challenging and uncertain times when I focus on the above question, in coming up with appropriate solutions in stopping the repeated hits and crashes to my nervous system in a relatively short period of time. Such a question shifts you out of inertia to change towards adapting to this new normal that we are all confronted with, whether we like it or not. This question begins to get you out of survival mode, so that you begin to manifest the right way, through the law of command.

The law of command is exactly that - being a steward of your life; even if you have to (metaphorically speaking again) fly a plane in wild turbulence. It implies that you are so certain of what you want, you command it. This is all about trusting your gut instincts on what to do next, even on low energy days. Meditation is great to calm and settle your body - yet such manifestation techniques are fun, yet they do not always help you hold onto that delicious cheese that you are holding onto for now.

In concluding, the problem is not that our cheese is constantly being moved to the point where we feel like that mouse stuck in a hamster on a wheel; the problem is that "the system" originally taught us that our cheese would expect to stay in the same place for a little while. In a now rapidly changing world, psychological wellbeing is not certainty beyond the law of command. The shift towards improved mental health, energy and vitality in times of constant disruptions is about building resilience - more so enough flexibility, self trust, and a sense of community to keep moving when the map no longer matches the territory. These would be healthy starts.

If you are in the mood to listen to a tune that captures the epitome of this article; this one offers hope. When the tide goes out, the tide also comes back in and supplies. That in itself is hopeful, where your cheese constantly moves. Shadow Of The Day by Linkin Park captures the essence of losing things, and with certain elements of life fading away, because you have changed. From darkness also comes a significant emotional release in enjoying some more "cheese" along this journey we call life: