Understanding Emotional Intelligence or Emotional Quotient (EQ)

Intelligence is one factor that contributes to success in different areas of life. Though people emphasize on intellectual intelligence but emotional intelligence may matter even more. 

It is not the most academically brilliant people that are the most successful or the most fulfilled in life. There are people who are smart and yet are socially inept and unsuccessful at work or in their personal relationships. Intellectual intelligence or intelligence quotient (IQ) alone is not enough to achieve success in life. Yes, your IQ can help you pass exams and get into school or get a juicy job, but it’s your EQ that will help you manage the stress and emotional upheaval or challenges at school, be able to stand up under pressure or help you navigate the social complexities of the workplace to excel in your career. IQ and EQ are most effective when they are combined.

Emotional intelligence

Emotions are important pieces of information that showcase your inner strength and that of others. Therefore, Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use,  and manage your own emotions to overcome challenges, communicate effectively and empathize with others. People that are emotionally intelligent can understand their own emotions and that of others. This understanding helps them to lead and motivate others. Having emotional intelligence enables them to build stronger relationships that help them achieve career and personal goals in life. Also, people with emotional intelligence can connect with their feelings, turn intention into action, act thoughtfully and appropriately, and make constructive decisions.

To build your EQ and become emotionally healthy, you must understand your core emotions, accept them, and be comfortable with them and be able to control them. 

The four attributes of Emotional intelligence.

Self-awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to understand how your emotions affect your thoughts and behaviour. Understanding the causes of your own behaviour is important. There are people oblivious to their actions. They don’t know the reason they do certain things and how such actions affect people around them. 

Such people are lacking in self-awareness. Being able to connect to your emotion is the key to understanding how emotion influences your thoughts and actions and the effect on others.

Be your own emotional manager by connecting to your emotions moment-to-moment to keep in touch with your changing emotional experience, assessing yourself objectively. to know your strengths and weaknesses. This will enable you to build up self-confidence and take charge of your life.  

Self-management

Self-management is your ability to manage your core emotions such as your impulse, feelings and actions, anger, sadness, fear, and joy. Being able to recognize and then take charge of your emotions puts you in control of how you respond to them. Being in charge also gives you the confidence to handle difficult situations, and to react positively and proactively to issues or conflicts rather than being hijacked by your emotions.

Also, your ability to take initiative, follow through on commitments, withstand pressure and adapt to changing situations around you to achieve success in life and career,

To be responsible and successful in life, you need to develop the art of self-management because success starts with self-management. 

Social awareness or Social intelligence

While self-awareness is looking inward to learn and understand yourself, social awareness is looking outward to learn and appreciate others. Being aware of your emotions has a social advantage. It helps you connect to other people around you. Social intelligence enables you to recognize friends from foes. It helps you measure others' interest in you. Through social interaction, with Social awareness, you develop empathy, be able to understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of other people, have the ability to pick up on other’s emotional cues, be tolerant of differences in others,

 it makes you feel comfortable socially and enables you to recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization. 

Relationship management

To work effectively with others is a process that begins with your emotional awareness and your ability to recognize and understand what other people are experiencing. Once you understand your emotion, you can effectively develop social skills that will make your relationships with others more effective, fruitful, and fulfilling.

In relationship management, develop excellent relationship skills. Know how to communicate, inspire, influence, and manage conflict. However, to achieve relationship management, pay attention to your own emotions, understand your feelings, and learn how to control them.

By understanding your emotions and how to control and express your feelings, then you will understand the feelings of people around you to communicate more effectively with them and forge stronger relationships, both at work and in your personal life.

For effective relationship management, be a skilled listener. That is, be adept in really listening to others; not just hearing what they are saying, but also paying attention to nonverbal signals and body language.

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These attributes of Emotional Intelligence can be learned and will be more beneficial when the knowledge applies to your daily life and not when they are learned for knowledge’s sake alone. Knowledge is good but backing that knowledge with action is better and more productive.