The most successful people

are those who are good at Plan B.

-James Yorke

This quote was brought to my attention on Monday, when I was at the Getty in LA for a an exclusive tour of their Rembrandt exhibition with the Museum's key donors. The special events manager shared this with me, and i felt it was perfectly suited for the topic at hand...

Did I mention before how honored I am to be included in the Axiology Collective--A smart and beautiful group of women? I'll be attending my sixth gathering tonight. Since I'm so very delinquent on my personal posts here, I thought I'd use tonight's topic of Navigating Change as my first blog of 2010. What about you?

For Reflection...

1. Do you generally embrace change or find yourself unsettled by changes that come about in life?

I think I take change in stride...

…though, changes I make I tend to embrace, while changes other people make I’m a little more hesitant to accept. I find it an issue of control when it's in the context of work, while I'm more open to it and often want to instigate change in my personal life…

2. Some changes we choose, others seem unwelcome. Is your reaction different toward each? Do you like the way you react?

I tend to get very inquisitive/curious when confronted with unwelcome changes. While I'm not always the most graceful person to accept change that I don't endorse, I do take pleasure in finding out how and why a change was made.

3. What does stability mean to you? When do you feel stable?

first thought: financial stability. tangible things...like home, husband, family. second pass: the path i've chosen for myself--my own intelligence, strength and peace provide me with a spiritual/emotional and physical stability that could carry me through a breakdown of the first layer.

4. Recall a moment in life when everything changed. A time when you knew in that instant that life would never be the same again.

this seems cliche, but it's a vivid moment in my meager collection of foggy childhood memories: My sister and I in the car on the way home from swim lessons (age: 9) and my mom tells us that she and my dad are getting divorced. My sister (age: 5) completely brokedown in tears, i was silent. I recall being relieved and disturbed at the same time.

5. As a child, was there a lot of change or were things seemingly stable. How do you think this affected the person you are now?

I have to stay that while she did the very best she could, after the divorce life with my mom was fairly disconnected. Four years later, we were with my dad and step-mom in a more structured environment. Of course this has shaped who I am today. I'm sympathetic to what happened at that time, and I know that there was unconditional support for my sister and I from extended family and friends.

this I gained an odd sense of confidence and independence, and at the same time an incredible set of insecurities; I have a solid work ethic, an appreciation for working class values, and I know the difference between a "want" and a "need". Finally, I have great empathy for families in stress, single parents, and most importantly, the children affected by this all.