How we handle our emotions plays a crucial role not only for our mental well-being, but also for our physical health, relationships, leadership ability, conflict resolution, social skills, and self-awareness. Put it all together – if your emotional intelligence is high then your likelihood for success is high. So let’s take a look at what emotional intelligence is, why it’s important, how it is different than IQ, what we can do to improve it, and how working on it can make us better people.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

It is also known as EQ and basically it’s the capacity for identifying and managing your individual emotions, as well as those of other people. In general, it is said to involve three basic skill-sets:

• The capacity for managing emotions – This includes being able to control one’s own emotions plus the capacity for calming down or cheering up someone else.
• The capacity for harnessing emotions and applying those emotions to tasks, such as problem solving and basic thinking.
• Emotional awareness, which includes being capable of effectively identifying one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others.

The Importance of Emotional Intelligence

Every one of us has a different personality, along with different ways that we show our emotions. The ability to navigate through all of these differing emotions in order to acquire true success in life requires a great deal of diplomacy and skill.

Your EQ is your capacity for recognizing your own personal emotions, reaching an understanding of exactly what those emotions are saying to you, and realizing just how your emotions are affecting everyone around you. EQ also entails how you perceive others. If you can have a clear understanding of how they are feeling, you can go about effectively managing your relationships.

Improving EQ

You’ll be happy to know that EQ can be developed by just about anyone. There are a few strategies that can help, including:

• Being observant regarding your reactions to individuals around you.
• Don’t rush to judgment
• Don’t place blame on others without taking an honest look at your role first
• Consider ALL factors that contribute to a problem
• Don’t stereotype
• Practice looking at your ways of interacting with others, so that you can improve on them.
• Don’t beat yourself up if you make a mistake. Use it as an opportunity to learn and grow

Building Emotional Intelligence can be initiated by:

• A Reduction of stress
• Being focused at all times
• Maintaining a connection between other people and yourself
• Recognizing your own emotions and then not letting them overwhelm you
• Connecting emotionally with others

A few additional ways that anyone can improve their Emotional intelligence include:

• Have a straightforward and honest attitude toward how you are thinking and interacting with the people around you.
• Try putting yourself in their place, so that you are being more open and accepting of their needs and perspective.
• At work, try not seeking all of the attention for accomplishments.
• Practicing humility says to other people that you are aware of what you accomplished, but prefer to be silently confident.
• Giving others their opportunity to shine is a good quality and possessed by people with a high EQ.
• Take moments to observe how you feel and why you’re feeling that way.
• Try to understand why others behave the way they do rather than reacting to their reactions.
• Take responsibility for your feelings and behavior.

Difference Between EQ and IQ

The difference between IQ and EQ was first established in 2000. It was determined that EQ mattered at least as much as IQ when determining success in life and overall happiness. IQ refers to intelligent abilities while EQ refers to those that are purely emotional.

According to numerous studies, individuals who possess high Emotional Intelligence possess better mental health, more powerful leadership skills, and excellent job performance. These studies also showed that emotional competency makes up 67% of excellence in job skills – the single most important factor. Emotional intelligence at the workplace is more important for advancement than IQ, technical experience, or advanced degrees.

Studies further showed that IQ actually failed to provide a complete explanation of cognitive ability. It’s not necessarily the most intelligent individuals who become the most successful in life.

Conflict Resolution

One of the great attributes of people with a high EQ is the ability to resolve conflict in a way that builds trust. Here are a few tips regarding conflict resolution:

• Since arguments take a great deal of energy and time away from more important matters, choosing your arguments is very important.
• Focusing on the present is a good way to avoid arguments altogether.
• Don’t hold onto any old resentment.
• Forgiving is the best way to avoid conflict.
• Put other peoples’ past bad behavior where it belongs, in the past.
• End a conflict early if it cannot be resolved.
• Choosing to extricate yourself from an irresolvable conflict, even while still disagreeing, is a sign of a high EQ.

So as you can see, emotional intelligence is highly valuable to all aspects of success. Keep in mind that improving and maintaining emotional intelligence is a lifelong process, keep working at it even after you see results. And don’t just go through the motions, be genuine as you raise your EQ to become a better person and more successful in life.

HelpGuide.org/ Emotional Intelligence (EQ)-Key Skills for Raising Emotional Intelligence

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/emotional-health/emotional-intelligence-eq.htm

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