What is emotional intelligence?
As much as 80% of adult success comes from emotional Intelligence.
-Daniel Golman
And if you lack it then you could be succesful but end up being a successful misery.
Life is a comedy for those who think and tragedy for those who feel- Quote by Horace walpole
Let’s first understand what are emotions before talking about emotional intelligence.
Emotions are chemical changes in the brain which happen because of the feeling of excited state or occurrence of a certain state of mind in reaction to thought or stimuli.
There are many emotions but these 7 are primary emotions which can be identified by facial expressions.
- Happiness
- Anger
- Fear
- Disgust
- Sadness
- Surprise
- Contempt
Happiness
Anger
Fear
Disgust
Sadness
Surprise
Contempt
What is emotional intelligence?
It is the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships with good judgment and
empathy.
Intellect can not perform best without emotional intelligence.
Intelligence is ineffective when emotions come to surface and dominate behaviour.
Emotional intelligence includes self-control, self-awareness, empathy, the art of listening, resolving conflicts cooperation and the ability to motivate oneself.
Our all emotions are given to us by evolution as impulses to act and create instant plans for handling life situations.
Academic intelligence does not make emotional life better in any way.
We have two minds. emotional mind and rational mind. One that thinks and one that feels.
EI is developed in childhood while progressing towards adulthood.
It is not born quality. it can be developed.
Types of emotional intelligence
1) Self-awareness- ability to monitor feelings from moment to moment.
2) Managing emotions- Handling feelings in an appropriate way.
3) Self-motivation- Observe emotions and direct them towards a positive approach.
4) Recognizing emotions in others- Observing peoples reactions and feelings based on their emotional state with empathy and recognizing their reasons for behaviours and what they want.
5) Handling relationships- Identify emotions in others and manage them to develop better relationships.
There are 3 types of ways people deal with emotions.
1 Self-aware– These people are mindful about their emotions. They recognize their emotions and can get out of bad emotions by having a positive outlook.
2 Engulfed– These people get overwhelmed with their emotions and not able to have a bigger perspective. Their mood and emotions control their feelings but they are not able to check them and stay in a bad mood.
3 Accepting– These people understand what they feel. They accept their mood and feelings but don’t try to change them. Some people in this category don’t try to change mood if they are feeling positive and some even don’t try to change their bad depressed mood.
Now you have an idea what emotional intelligence is and I hope you understand how important it is.
So…
Do you practice emotional intelligence in your life?