Last week I was privileged to speak about Positive Psychology and its connection to goals at the International Coach Federation’s annual conference in Orlando, Florida. For the presentation, I refined my approach on how to set and accomplish goals, and this ten-step process is what I will write about here every week in the next ten weeks. With New Year’s Resolutions on the horizon, this is the perfect way to prepare for, set, and follow up on your goals in the coming year.

The first step in any goal accomplishment is to take your emotional temperature. This matters because a comprehensive review of hundreds of pieces of research found that success in all domains of life comes to people who describe themselves as happy. This is somewhat counterintuitive because one might think that people get happy because they are successful, but it’s the opposite: people who are in a flourishing state are more likely to accomplish goals precisely because their hope, optimism, zest and resilience gives them an important edge in going after what they want.

How do you determine if you’re happy or not? Usually you just know. If not, you can ask those closest to you how you come across, or the impact you have on others. If it’s not positive, you probably need to analyze your daily “jolts of joy.” We all need at least three positive events to outweigh one negative in order to be above the positivity ratio, which is the indicator of being in a flourishing state.

There are several research-backed interventions that reliably bring most people greater happiness, although everyone has their own favorite uppers. In my latest book, I cover all of the evidence-based happiness interventions, but here are just a few to get you thinking about making sure you are flourishing:

• Meditate. This simple practice, particularly “metta” meditation, dramatically impacts a person’s well-being, relationships with others, and self-regulation, among many other things.
• Exercise. This is a no-brainer, but it bears repeating that exercise makes you healthier, happier and more self-confident, particularly when two-thirds of Americans are overweight.
• Be grateful. The happiest people are the most grateful. Make a point of saying “thank you” often, and try to do something simple – like express gratitude for something every time you stop at a red light – and make it a regular habit.
• Use your Signature Strengths. Go to www.authentichappiness.org and find out what your top five strengths are on the VIA. Research shows that people who know and use their strengths often are happier for months after starting this process.

Taking and addressing your emotional temperature is where you need to start before getting into any goal-setting exercise because if you are in a negative or depressed state of mind, the quality of your goals may not matter. What will matter, however, most is whether or not you have the most optimistic, hopeful and zestful outlook on a daily basis to even get into the game and stay there, and that is completely up to you.

To learn more about my new groups that help people learn how to set and accomplish goals, click here.