Posts Tagged ‘goals’

Decision Time

| Monday, October 5th, 2009 | No Comments »

Goals. Goals. Goals. Yuck. Phuey. Who needs them!

Are you sick of hearing about the importance of setting goals?

Sometimes I feel that way too and that is a big part of what I help people do as a business consultant and coach.

So what do I think is actually more important than determining and setting goals?

Decision Time!

For example. Do you have a staff member who performs poorly?

What decision regarding this staff member have you been avoiding? Refusing to take action on?

Perhaps it’s as simple as acting on the decision to make a decision at all! Scary to be stuck at that level. But more common than you realize.

Maybe the decision you are avoiding is to sit down with the staff member and provide a job review and make suggestions or requirements. Or perhaps it’s time to discuss termination of the position or that staff person specifically.

Who can be bothered with setting short and long term goals when the power of being stuck and inactive on key decisions (even small decisions) maintains an environment that you tolerate at best. And worst? You don’t need me to tell you about worst. We both know it feels like crap and can make you question your qualificiations and worth regularly.

So, what do you do?

I can give you a lot of potential options to choose from but that just provides you with another decision to make doesn’t it.

Let me make it easy for you. Between November 1, 2009 and December 20th, 2009 I am going to help you for free! No goal setting programs for 2010, its Decision Time.

Contact me to sign up for a no fee 45 minute clarity and action session.

Once we have selected a date/time for you to call, I will email you a simple Decision Time worksheet. During the session we will evaluate 6 decisions you are holding back on and outline the first step in taking action on those decisions.

POW, 6 decisions moved forward before 2010.

BAM, 6 areas in your life that won’t be holding you down and keeping you back in 2010. YES, time and energy to focus on areas in your business and lifestyle that you have been convincing yourself you don’t have time to address.


It’s your life, are you ready?

action right now: email julia@juliaferguson.com and request your no fee session.

Who are you? Are you recognizable back home?

| Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 | No Comments »

Might seem like a silly question…

Fact is, many expats find themselves behaving in ways that don’t match up with their beliefs, values and goals in life.

Some of us just get lost in the whole “expat thing” and stop listening to our hearts and souls.

Who are you? Can you be that person in this country? If not, what is making you behave differently than you normally would? When you repatriate will you be recognizable back home?

Simple question for you today:

What are you doing in this country that doesn’t feel right for you?

Action step:

What 3 things do you need to do today to get yourself back on track and honouring your values and beliefs?

Are you Accepting Less Than You Hoped For?

| Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 | No Comments »

Some people call it “settling for less”, others say “giving up, giving in”.

Either way it can cause long term stress that eats away at your self esteem and happiness.

Living abroad can put us in situations where our choices don’t feel like options we want to pick. The result is we are left feeling trapped and upset.

Sadly, we usually have other options we are not seeing because our own inner voice and cultural conditioning often put up walls blinding us to our big picture options and the truth.

The worst scenario is the one whereby we really do have only a few options and none of them are what we would pick for ourselves “back home”.

This is where it is so important to give yourself the chance to explore your values, determine your limitations and see what type of compromise you are willing to make.

If you can turn your situation around and view it as making a compromise, putting yourself back in the power seat, it can do a lot for relieving the mental stress you are feeling.

The key here is that I am not suggesting you just change the wording. I am suggesting that you actually pick the option that is best for you even though you don’t like it and find a way to actually turn it into a compromise.

Perhaps it means giving yourself permission to return home sooner than you planned because you are miserable and your health comes first. So, “I hate this location and I have 16 months to go in this contract”… becomes “If I work for another 6 months here, the money I make will be enough to purchase that house back home, I will choose to work here for that time and then make arrangements to move back early and find a job better suited to my goals and interests”.

Ok, is a gremlin yelling at you right now….quit the job…. is Julia nuts? Maybe. You tell me.

Which is nuttier, to stay in a situation that is causing you sadness, anger, frustration, eating away at your health at the cellular level causing long term damage, negatively affecting your relationships, possibly your partner or kids, OR seizing the opportunity, taking control of your destiny and reshaping how you choose to go forward.

Never forget. NEVER forget this is YOUR life.

Who are you putting in charge of it? Yourself using your values and beliefs to guide you OR Society, your boss, your spouse, a bad situation.

If you answer yes to the title question of this post, ask yourself the next question: How many more days are you going to tolerate choosing to remain in this situation?

How many more days will you throw away?

Ready to change?

First step. What are you tolerating?
Second step. What would the situation look like without the toleration?
Third step. What do you need to do right now to change this?

If the fourth step for you is getting help with this – I am here for you. Let’s get it done!