Mind Talk – Career and Life Coaching

What Does Christmas Mean To You?

Published on December 1, 2014February 29, 2016 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Christmas day does not have to mean the traditional large family, turkey, ham and beautiful summers day. Christmas isn’t like that for many and who is to say what is the best kind of Christmas anyway? Having expectations of what things are “supposed” to be at Christmas can create disappointment and dissatisfaction. Also the mind will start comparing what others do and have, and ask Why aren’t we like them!! Not great for confidence! This Christmas you decide what you want it to be and with who.

So here are a couple of things to remember at this time of year –

a) What you see in others isn’t necessarily what is real. Read the glossy gossip magazines and everyone seems like they have such happy families and going to have an amazing Christmas. Really??? I think not – often what is portrayed is the good stuff not the hard tough, tragic stuff that happens within families.

b) Love what you have. This isn’t the time to wish for a different life/family/mother/house/ in law etc. This is the time to acknowledge what you do have, whether it’s the love of a wonderful friendship, your gorgeous puppy or a lovely spouse.

c) What can you do with what you have? How about deciding how you would like your Christmas to be this year. Forget about “supposed to” and think about wants. What is the food you can afford and would like? How can you make it interesting? Who do you really want to spend Christmas day with and where would you like it to be? On the beach, at a cafe, in the bush?

This year make Christmas special for you in whatever way that is.

What ever you do wherever you are, have a merry Christmas day and may 2015 bring all you wish for and all the love you need.

Warmest

Allison

Contact Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coaching to discover and achieve what you want in 2015.

Career Coaching | 8 Ways to cure Boredom at Work

Published on April 1, 2014February 29, 2016 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Are you bored at work? Unhappy but due to personal circumstances can’t leave just yet? Or like your job, but don’t want to leave, trouble is the same excitement when you started just isn’t there?

If either is true you will need some ways to make work interesting in the mean time. And anyway even the most exciting job can go a bit stale after we’ve been in it a while. Once boredom has taken hold it affects how we feel about our job, our career and life as a whole. We may become a little less happy and we lose our career drive and even our drive for life.

Here are some tips that should help lessen the boredom:

Action a review. If you looked in on yourself, your job and your life, what do you see? What would others see if they looked objectively? Removing yourself for a little while from the daily routine and looking at everything with an objective mind will help you find things you could change.
What excites you? Part of number 1 is to check what interests do you have outside of work? What really excites and motivates you? After all you are so much more than just your career. Find a new hobby. If you find your personal life isn’t very exciting, explore, try some hobbies or join new groups and find something you really enjoy.
Change daily routines. Maybe you could start with a different task, mix things up a bit, change the time you take a break, make your calls in the morning, don’t check emails for 2 hours, etc. Just think of the little things you could change to break up the daily grind. Perhaps drive a different way to work or on the way home. If your job allows you to be flexible, then think about mixing this up a bit more. You could maybe decide to work from home some days to break the cycle.
Make new friends at work. You could try to meet other people, from other work areas. Start looking around. Is there maybe someone or a group of people who you like the look of? Find a way to introduce yourself and see how things go.
New Projects. Ask for new tasks or a new project that could broaden your areas of responsibility.
Learn something new. A great way to fight boredom is to study a new and exciting thing related to your job. Have a look at what’s new in your area of work and start studying it. You might even find a course to go on. Building skills is a good career investment.
Volunteer. A good way of expanding your job role is by volunteering to do things that are outside your current job scope. Find out what the company is doing both internally and in the community. See it as an opportunity to learn new things and meet people in a different area.
Re-frame the Mind Talk. Through this time check what your mind is saying to you. Now that your being proactive you can start to turn around negative comments. So when your internal mind goes “I’m bored and frustrated” remind your self that you are being pro-active and list the things you have done so far to manage it.

So come on no time like the present choose one of the above and control the boredom!

Contact Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coaching, to discuss your career.

Life Coaching | Is it a 10?

Published on August 29, 2013 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coaching — Make it a 10!

Decisions can be so difficult at times and as a coach coaching clients, when a decision needs to be made by them it can be tough to decide what is the best decision in this moment, the best course of action or simply what do I really want? A useful way to make decisions is to ask yourself which of the options is a 10? 10 meaning the best possible option, makes you feel great, gives great satisfaction or excitement, a 10 means you really want to do it. It just feels right! For instance taking up a new hobby and deciding which one to choose. Choose the one closest to a 10. If your asked to go away with friends for a weekend but you also want to stay home with your partner. Ask yourself which is a 10? And if not what number is it? If the weekend was a 10 what would you be doing? Similarly performance in a job or career what does a 10 mean? What are you doing, being or achieving that will make it a 10? Is an 8 or 9 good enough? Sometimes there is so much to do in life and asking the 10 question can really help to reduce the options to the ones you really want to do. Ask yourself each morning what will make my day a 10? Find out more as I discuss this further in my recent newsletter Living from a 10.

To discuss your Career or Life journey give Allison a call today.

Career Advice | It’s ok not to know!

Published on June 20, 2013 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

When contemplating a career change it is so important to take the time to ponder and reflect. Often there is a confusion stage or an “I don’t know” stage which can be really uncomfortable. It can create anxiety and a lot of angst because often we think we are supposed to know! Hey it’s ok your allowed not to know! In the “old days” folk used to sit on the porch and ponder answers, but these days in our busy consumerist society it seems there is often little time to do so.

It can be uncomfortable for people to be in that space of not knowing when their job or career just doesn’t seem to fit well anymore. Well yes it is uncomfortable but if we can accept it, go with it, and embrace it who knows what may emerge. Rather than putting energy into fighting the not knowing, put the energy into research, talking to people, asking questions of yourself. So it’s not about doing nothing but about acknowledging that your unsure right now, reassure yourself that its’ ok, keep researching, pondering and questioning.

So relax, find your porch and reflect the answers may well come!

If you would like to discuss your uncomfortable spot give Allison Fisher, Career & Life Coaching a call on 09 5233785.

Career & Life Coaching | Winter Mindset

Published on June 10, 2013 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

I’ve just got back from a couple of weeks in the warm climes of the US. As I stepped out of the airport the cold really hit and the next day there was lots of rain and wind. I found myself moaning about the change of weather and that winter has arrived. (Life Coaches aren’t positive all the time thank goodness!! 🙂 ) Then I thought well winter will be here for a few months yet so is there another way to look at this? I know that the weather is one thing I cannot change and have absolutely no control over. But I can control what I think about it. I then began to think about all the things I do like about winter and here is my list so far –

Hot soup
Slow cookers
Open fires
Chocolate and berry crumble dessert
Cuddling up on the couch with a person or a blanky!
Cold clear but sunny days
The wild excitement of wind and rain

So I’ve now put out the intention to make the best of what is this winter.

Love to know the things you like about winter.

Have you considered Life Coaching to support you through the winter blues? Call me for a chat if winter sometimes gets the better of you. Phone Allison, Career & Life Coach on 09 5233785.

Feeling the Fear

Published on February 14, 2013 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

Fear can stop us from doing many things in life, from applying for a job we don’t think we deserve or don’t think we have quite got enough skills for, from asking someone out on a date, to jumping from a plane skydiving. The challenge is to manage the mind conversation that can stop us from doing things we would like to do. Byron Katie, developed this method called The Work, a great technique to unravel the stuff that goes on in our minds, to challenge the stories and check for what is really true.

The 4 questions are:

1. Is it True?

2. Can you absolutely know that it’s true?

3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?

4. Who would you be without the thought?

Here’s an example of a conversation that might go on in your mind –

1. Is it true I’m really bad at job interviews? Yes.

2. But can I absolutely know it’s true? – well I guess not as I got my current job through an interview.

3. How do I feel when I believe this thought? Well worried, scared and panicky.

4. Without this thought – I would be confident self-assured and go into the interview fighting!

So try this out next time when you think or feel as though you can’t do something and your feeling that fear. Don’t let your thoughts control you take control of your thoughts. 🙂

Published on March 19, 2012 by Allison FisherLeave a comment

I wrote an article for the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand, (FINZ), recently on the topic of managing the stress of fundraising. Having read this again I thought I would share the article with you as it really relates to all of us, fundraisers or not. We live in a busy world involving multiple tasks, relationships and activities through any given day. We do need tools and boundaries to ensure we look after ourselves while we are achieving what we want in our lives.

Here’s the link to the article –

http://www.allisonfisher.co.nz/workplace-stress.html

Have a great week. 🙂