IQ, or intelligence quotient, is a way of showing one’s intelligence through standardized tests. This is only a partial gauge of one’s mental strength. The other part is the emotional IQ, known as EQ for emotional quotient, or EI for emotional intelligence, which was brought to light by a psychologist, named Daniel Goleman, in his book Emotional Intelligence. Your EI shows how emotionally and socially able you are.
What are the components of EI and how do I improve them?
Self-Awareness:
The first part of emotional intelligence is self-awareness. To be self-aware is to understand not only your own feelings, but also the feelings of others. Furthermore, you must understand how your thoughts and actions impact other people. First, to understand your own emotions, you need to be able to recognize what makes you feel certain ways. Keeping track of thoughts and feelings in a journal can help with this. You then need to learn how to understand other people feelings by listening. Meditation can help increase mindfulness, which can help better your self-awareness.
Self-Regulation:
The second component of emotional intelligence is self-regulation. Self-regulation has to do with your self-control and ability to keep composure. Being in-control of yourself and your feelings is and important part to being conscientious and thoughtful. To improve your self-regulation, you need to know what you stand for so your values can lead you to make the right decisions. It is important to be able to recognize when you are at fault and why you were wrong. Understanding what you did can help you learn to not do it again.
Motivation:
The third part of emotional intelligence is motivation. You must be able to have goals and actively pursue them. These goals should be more than material goals, they should also include personal goals and goals of growth. To develop your motivation, you need to clearly know what you want and how you want to pursue it. Know why you want what you want and why you will pursue it that way.
Empathy:
The fourth component of emotional intelligence is empathy. To be empathetic is to understand why people feel the way they do and to feel the same feelings that they do. To improve your ability to be empathetic, you should listen to people and try to put yourself in their shoe’s. Ask yourself, “How would I feel if this was happening to me? What would I do if this was happening to me?”
Social Skills:
The fifth part of emotional intelligence is social skills. To have good social skills, you need to know how to behave in different social situations. You need to be able to communicate well with others and be able to listen to others. You need to be able to read body language and display body language. To improve your social skills, you can improve your communication skills, show tolerance towards other people, and resolve conflict in a non-argumentative way.
To better yourself as a person, consider developing and growing your EI beyond what it already is. Actively work to improve yourself to be a better communicator, listener, and to learn more about yourself.
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