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Happy Monday, friend ☕️ 

This weekend was intense.

We finally left Johannesburg behind.

Settled in Cape Town!

Well, sort of.

Our dog is in a kennel.
Our furniture’s in storage.
We’re living out of an Airbnb.
Our son is attending a new school this week.

So no, not quite settled yet.

It’s been a whirlwind of emotions - hope, stress, excitement, nostalgia.

How did I manage with all this change happening at once?

Grab your coffee ☕️ 

Let’s chat!

The Stress of Relocating (Change)

"Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes." — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Relocating is never just logistics.
In fact, it’s one of the most stressful life events:

• You second-guess your decision

• You grieve what you're leaving behind

• You cling to comfort while craving something new

Honestly, we struggled with processing the move from JHB to CPT.

It’s tough to leave your comfort zone for a new adventure.

We crave stability, not change.

Leaving our our Joburg home of 10 years was not easy.

Luckily, that tension between “what was” and “what’s next” is where "Who Moved My Cheese?" offers some useful help.

A 2-Minute Summary for the Uninitiated

In this fable, four characters live in a maze and rely on cheese.

It symbolizes success, happiness, and security.

Then one day... They are hit with a shocking change - the cheese disappears! (A job change and relocation?)

Each character reacts differently:

• Sniff: notices the change early

• Scurry: acts fast without overthinking

• Hem: resists change and hopes things go back to normal

• Haw: hesitates at first, but learns to adapt and embrace the new

Our Journey From Hem to Haw (and Eventually Scurry)

We started off as classic Hems. Fully resistant to the idea of leaving JHB.
We loved our friends, our routines, our lives, our home.
We didn’t want to leave our comfort zone.

But slowly, we turned into Haws. Nervous but curious.
We asked hard questions. Explored possibilities.
Maybe Cape Town wasn’t so bad?
Could our lives be better?

Then finally: Scurry Mode.
We made the leap. We packed, booked, planned, re-planned, toured schools, hunted homes, mapped commutes.

The town had to change at the last minute and threw all our plans out.

But still, we scurried on.

And now, finally, we are here. Albeit a bit in limbo.

Our Schnauzer? I’m sure he’s still in Hem mode….

Might take him a while to come around.

But us?

We feel relief now that it’s finally done.

What Can We Learn From This as Managers?

Change is the only constant these days.

The question is: are you prepared?

Here’s what the book (and this move) reminded me:

1. Change is inevitable (except from a vending machine) - The cheese will move.

2. Sniff early signals - Trends, culture shifts, engagement drops.

3. Be like Haw - Laugh at your fear and move forward anyway.

4. Don’t be Hem - Resistance only delays the inevitable.

5. Scurry if you must - Imperfect action beats paralysis.

You don’t want to find yourself in a cheeseless situation because your weren’t change-ready.

Key Takeaway

Change may be inevitable, but how we respond is up to us.

Our move so far has been stressful, but thanks to the lens of “Who moved my cheese”, I was able to see myself in the various stages of the change.

This made it (slightly) easier to manage when I was in a Hem, Haw, Sniff or Scurry state.

If you haven’t read "Who Moved My Cheese?" yet, grab a copy. It’s a quick read packed with wisdom.

Thanks for joining me today, friend - see you next week!

Cheers,

Vaugan

PS: I’d love to hear from you - Send us a rating and comments/feedback!

Chess

Black to play and force mate.

You can move the pieces and try to solve it here.

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