Allison Fisher

Back at Work Blues?

Published on February 25, 2014February 29, 2016 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

So how is it back at work post-Christmas holidays, children returned to school and routines well established? Are there some quiet questions in your mind about your life or your work? Is there some introspection taking place?

It is really important not to avoid these queries but to face them and bring them up to the surface to explore. If we avoid this exploration it is quite likely they will still be there in a year’s time, 5 years time or 10 years time by which time you could be very fed up and this may well undermine your confidence and belief in yourself and stop you from getting what you do want. So have a mind check is there some of the following musings going on in your head?

I’m bored
Same old same old
Wish I was somewhere else
Wish I worked at ….
I really don’t like my manager
Gawd this again..

To open these up and find out what is going on, here are some useful questions to ask yourself: What would be my opposite of boredom? If I could choose anything at all, what would I be doing? Where would I be? What sort of people would I prefer to work with? What am I really interested in? What am I really good at? These might take a while to answer. Get some help ask friends about your strengths, what they see you being good at. And ask them when do they see you really engaged in something? Everyone deserves to have a fulfilling job, having some belief that you can is the first step. Call or email Allison Fisher Career & Life Coaching to talk about how you can get out of the boredom and identify what job is ideal for you.

What is important to you this year?

Published on February 10, 2014February 29, 2016 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

In my last blog I discussed writing an Obituary. This is about identifying what your wants are in life. Could be what you want to achieve, could be who you want to be, behaviours you want to develop or what you want to create in your life.

The next step now that you know what you want is to make this into specific GOALS. So thinking about the year ahead, look at your Obituary and decide what are the priorities for you in 2014 that will help you achieve what you want in life. Ask yourself what is really important to me this year? What would make my life interesting, purposeful, exciting and fun? Write those ideas on a large piece of paper then follow the 6 tips below to create clear goals:

Write goals as if you have already achieved them e.g. ” I run twice a week” or “I have a loving intimate relationship”.
Be specific – how will you know you have achieved the goal?
Check – how much do you want this goal on a scale of 1 to 10? If a 5 or 6 rating then ask yourself is it important enough? Is there another goal that is more important.
Small bites – if you want to run a marathon maybe the first thing you need to do is buy new shoes? So plan one bite and one step at a time!
Check are there any obstacles to achieving your goal? If there are how can you circumvent this or perhaps ask for help to climb over the obstacle.
And finally chunk the goals to achieve each month. So in February what are the actions I need to do to work towards my goals? Make a list and tick them off as you go. Then set the next actions for March and so on.

If you would like to begin 2014 clear and focused, then call or email Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coaching to discuss your way forward.

Be your own Life Coach, write your Obituary!

Published on January 21, 2014April 25, 2016 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Ever written your obituary? Sound strange?

I guess it is in a way but isn’t it much better to decide what you want and create it while you’re in this world rather than someone else writing your obituary once you’ve gone?

It can be a really useful way to identify what you do want and what you want to achieve in life, then you can go about creating it.

Here’s an article in the January edition of the NZ publication of NEXT magazine about 3 inspiring and very normal women who wrote their obituary. They each worked with a life coach and I was lucky enough to be one of those, to assist them to identify what they wanted in their lives.

This could be your beginning in 2014. Either write it all at once or write it bit by bit tuning into what might excite and stimulate you to be able to really live and enjoy the life you have. Key question is WHAT DO YOU WANT? So give it a go, have a play, this is just for you and it doesn’t need to be perfect.

I’d love to receive your obituary or plan for 2014 or you could call or email me at Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coaching to discuss what you would like to create.

Here we go 2014 let’s do it!

Celebrate and Reflect

Published on December 23, 2013November 13, 2017 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Christmas is nearly here and as we slow down in the holidays it is a good time to reflect and consider the year that has been. So here are some questions to ponder as you lounge on the beach, in the sea, on your back deck or on the couch:

What is the one thing you will remember of 2013?
What has been the most surprising?
What has been the saddest?
What has been the happiest?

and what do you want to CELEBRATE? Make sure you tell at least one person what you achieved for 2013. And make sure you celebrate really well. You deserve it!

If you would like to discuss what you would like to create in 2014 then give Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coach a call.

Thank You!

Published on December 18, 2013December 16, 2013 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

To all my teenagers, parents, career explorers and life changers. To those who have learnt more about themselves, those who had the courage to reach out, those whose pain is still raw, and to those who I have connected with in some way I would like to give you a gift for Christmas.

Through my Career Coaching and Life Coaching work I have met many wonderful people. I thank you for your honesty and openness.

To thank you I’ve gathered together some articles for you to simply enjoy. Here are a whole variety of articles from ideas on social media to living a full life:

7 Positives only Introverts would understand – Introverts you will love this it affirms your allowed to be who you are!
Social Media Mistakes for Older Job Hunters – Come on get up with the play you can do it!
12 things to do after getting laid off – There are things you can do and action is the key.
Brene Brown – her ted talk on Shame – So Inspiring.
Grateful Kids at Christmas – How to encourage gratefulness in your children.
30 things to ask yourself before you die – Life is short so ask yourself the right questions.
Living from a 10 – Live well and from your own values

and finally and most importantly a gorgeous video on Gratefulness, Beauty and Connection

Please relax in the holidays, and as you reflect aim to let go of the stuff in 2013 that you don’t need anymore and ask yourself, what do you want to bring into your world in 2014?
A very merry Christmas to you all.

Blessings from Allison

5 Reasons Why We Don’t Achieve Our Goals

Published on November 15, 2013April 25, 2016 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Do you struggle with achieving your goals?

Did you stop or start a habit or learn a new skill, a new language or a new sport?
Did you change a belief about something or someone?
Did you have fun, find new friends, begin a new relationship?
Did you grab life and love being who you are?

If you didn’t achieve what you wanted, what happened??

5 Reasons Why We Don’t Achieve Our Goals

Too many goals – so many wonderful things to do in life but overwhelm kicks in with the enormity of it all, it’s all too hard then nothing happens
Lack of Planning – yep you want to do it but somehow something else always got in the way
Too big – the dream or goal just seemed so big and you just didn’t know where to start
Lack of belief – did you really truly believe you could achieve it? Was there self-doubt or a lack of confidence?
The Why – sometimes we think a goal is important but then find the reason we wanted to do it actually isn’t a strong enough motivation to achieve it

So for your first goal commit to creating powerful goals and doing them well.

To discuss achieving your goals contact Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coach.

Coaching The Spark!

Published on October 10, 2013 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

As a Career & Life Coach I’ve always believed that everyone has a special something that they are gifted to do, that special talent that we are born with, the something we love to do and are good at. I’ve discussed this often in career coaching and life coaching sessions and have just read a book that sang to me about this very fact. It’s called The Spark: a mother’s story of Nurturing Genius by Kristine Barnett. A true story about her autistic son, Jacob.

This book is about the power of love and courage in the face of overwhelming obstacles, and the possibilities that can occur when we learn how to tap the true potential that lies within every child, and in all of us.

Kristine made available all the usual therapies for Jacob from the age of 18 months after discovering he had autism and was slowly retreating from the world. However in therapy she realised that he was doing things he really wasn’t interested in doing rather than the things he was interested in.

Allison Fisher Career & Life Coach — Kristine and Jacob

Typical Therapy sessions focused on the lowest skills. Kristine says “I’d watched my son nod off during a session still holding a therapy putty ball. So instead of hammering away at all the tasks these kid’s couldn’t do. I thought we’d start with what they wanted to do.” (pg 68) Through this approach nd a lot of hard work Jacob gradually came out of himself.

Kristine goes on to say “It’s hard for many people to relate to, but Jake genuinely thinks math and science are the most beautiful things on earth. The way a music lover thrills to a crescendo, the way a lifelong reader catches her breath in delight over a perfectly crafted phrase” (pg 202)

Jacob does have an extremely high IQ, higher than Einstein’s! Very exceptional in that sense however these principles were proven to be successful with other autistic children and teenagers when Kristine opened a school for autistic children. There were many examples of children with varying IQ’s that once Kristine and her helpers found their interest whether it was cooking, maths, writing or making clothes, once that passion was found then the kids would develop in other areas too.

Kristine believes all we have to do is find the gift in the child and the other stuff that they aren’t so good at or don’t like to do will come along just fine as long as they have a passion, something they love to do.

Jacob at the tender age of 15 is currently studying theoretical physics at the Perimeter Institute in Toronto! Just imagine if his parents hadn’t allowed him to focus on what he loved what the world may have lost.

So for you what is your spark, the “thing”, the talent that you have that is unique to you and you love to do? Would love to hear about it or discuss how you could discover it. Contact Allison Fisher, Career and Life Coaching.