"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." Winston Churchill

"Past and future are in the mind only—I am now." Deepak Copra

I love these quotes because they remind me that being effective relies on not putting off until tomorrow what you can do today.

Here’s a personal effectiveness tip you can use everyday during this holiday season. If you catch yourself saying, I’ll do that in 2010, stop and ask yourself why you’re not starting now.

Here are a few of the reasons for waiting I’ve heard in just the last two weeks:

• It’s too stressful right now; I can’t possibly relax.
• I’m too busy; I can’t possibly exercise.
• I have so many parties; I can’t possibly eat healthy.
• I have to travel, so I can’t possibly (all of the above).
• No one’s available, so I can’t possibly get the deal done, make that important phone call, or recruit the right talent.

I hear this from clients, associates, and friends. These are all the reasons to give up and wait for some future time when life slows down or things get better.

So I made a fourth quarter resolution not to put off to 2010, those things that need to happen now.

The inspiration for getting ahead of the curve came from a conversation with my daughter, Nicole. I’ve been eating healthy all year, and the temptation, since Thanksgiving, was to slack off and wait to start again in 2010. It seemed like a legitimate reason until I asked the question, what is different now from my commitment all year? I posed the question to Nicole because she’s my committed partner in healthy eating. She said that her secret is to stay on her plan rather than wake up on January first not feeling healthy, fit, and at her ideal weight. She wasn’t making excuses or using the holidays as a reason to be “unhealthy”.

Do I need to be less healthy, less radiant, and less energetic? I asked myself why I would indulge in unhealthy behavior, and the answer was simple. It’s a holiday habit! Hmmm … a holiday habit that I could change. Just the thought lifted my spirits. I experienced a shot of optimism over this realization.

It seems to me you have to distinguish between waiting for results and waiting to start. There’s a world of difference between the two, one is patience and the other is procrastination.

Patience is allowing a process to engage. If I’m waiting in line, I’m patient. If I’m waiting to eat healthy, what am I waiting for? The right time, or a new set of circumstances, or some future when I have more control or less stress? If that’s the truth of the matter, then I may be waiting a long time until conditions are right for me to have what I say matters most.

What if you gave up any attachment to your old holiday habit as well as any fear about how long it will take to achieve your goal, while upping your involvement with what you want to achieve today?

I call this process letting go without giving up; you let go of both the habit and your impatience for the outcome, by embracing the process. You stop waiting, and engage with your plan now. Ask yourself why you would wait until some future date for relaxation, strength, health, and confidence to do what you know contributes to your health, wealth, and happiness.

You may be stunned into silence when you have no immediate answer and be left questioning, hmmm, why don’t I start now, or continue if you’re already in action?

It’s both easier than you think and harder than it sounds. It just means you have to create a plan. That’s the easy part. The hard part is to stick to it. I suggest you get a committed partner to work with you on the hard part. (This is not the same as waiting for your partner to get committed!) A committed partner doesn’t let you off the hook of accountability. That’s how you know they’re committed to your success.

Here’s how you can make it easier to stay true to your goals during the holidays.

1. Intervene—Believe it
Believe in the opportunity to stop the counter productive habit, by shifting what you think about what’s possible now. Pause before you do the same old thing or let your commitment slide. Shift your holiday habit to a healthy habit.

2. Plan—See it
Seize the opportunity to be successful. Know what you want, and have the confidence to make it happen step-by-step. Make a plan. This can be as simple as each night writing down the most important actions you need to take the following day. I don’t need to write down exercise because I just do it! I write down healthy eating, writing, and whatever else I need to get done that day. The list is the first thing I see when I walk in my office in the morning.

3. Act—Do it
Do what you say is important to you. Anything you’ve achieved, you did through continuous action to make it happen. My friend Kevin uses what he calls the 3 D’s to stay in action:  desire, discipline, and diligence. With the 3 D’s you will achieve what you want by having the desire to create a new habit, the discipline to stay engaged, and the diligence to never give up.

Add love to the recipe and you’ll have a holiday worth remembering.

My love goes with you as you work with this Uplifting Moment.