Stop being an emotional fool! The phrase not only means one should not hurt themselves for being emotional. But if a person doesn’t have control over their emotions, he is technically measured as less intelligent. Psychologist says people who break down at the drop of a hat are not too intelligent and immature.
Intelligent people are often designated as having “higher IQ levels but psychologists believe emotional intelligence (EQ) matters more than intelligence Quotient (IQ). Particularly, in the business world, the most competent, capable and effective individuals are those with high EQs. In fact, people with average scores on traditional intelligence tests beat those with high IQs 70% of the time, and the reason is the presence of emotional intelligence.
In the year 2020, the World Economic Forum has ranked emotional intelligence as one of the top-10 most important workplace skills workers need for success; and in recent years it has developed to be regarded as a critical element of great management.
It is said, excess of everything is bad. Hence highly sensitive people overwhelmed with constant emotional nuances. These people easily let others inclined over them. Persons around them control their feelings and modify them according to their own needs. This will only hurt and cause constant worry.
What is Emotional intelligence?
Do you often perform impulsively, doing or saying things you know you shouldn’t, only to regret it later? Or do you feel disconnected from your feelings and emotionally numb? These can all be signs that you need to work on building your emotional intelligence. Most of us have a clasp of what emotional intelligence means, but it can be difficult to define. Emotional intelligence describes the ability to manage oneself and one’s decisions in a manner that recognizes the effects on others.
The core qualities of EQ comprise four domains: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Nested within each area, there are twelve EI skills, including empathy, positive outlook, self-control, achievement, adaptability, influence, conflict management, organizational awareness, mentor, teamwork, inspirational leadership. These skills need just as much engagement with emotions as the primary place and should be just as much a part of any aspiring leader’s development priorities.
Moreover, emotional intelligence (EQ) is the capability to recognize, understand, and use your own emotions in a positive way to ease anxiety and worry, talk efficiently, sympathize with others, conquer challenges, and resolve arguments. As you develop the ability to better know and understand your own emotions, you’ll find it easier to know how others are sensing for you.
Emotional intelligence proved vital during the COVID-19 pandemic and also guides to cope with various diseases.
Your emotional intelligence has never been more essential than during the COVID-19 pandemic. This difficult time of the pandemic has tinted the value of emotional intelligence EQ. In the times of uncertainty, the ability to recognize and better handle your own emotions will facilitate you from performing your best.
However, Emotional intelligence helps us to deal with a difficult situation and struggling with various diseases. Emotional intelligence supports our brain’s ability to cope with emotional distress. This resilience keeps our immune system strong and protects us from the disease. Emotion is now at the heart of clinical theory and is seen as the foundation of psychological change.
According to Taruna Sah, Psychologist, “The integration of emotional intelligence is supported within several disciplines as there is consensus on the impact that emotional intelligence has on job satisfaction, stress level, burnout and helps to facilitate a positive environment. Explicit to advance practice nursing, emotional intelligence is a theory that may be essential to nursing practice as it has the potential to impact the value of patient care and effects, decision-making, critical thinking and largely, the well-being of practising nurses.”
At times of catastrophe, showing empathy, self-regulation and positive relationships are required to sustain healthy surroundings in our homes, workplaces, and the public sphere. Thus, it is essential for policymakers to appreciate, advocate and channelize the power of emotional intelligence (EI) to conquer this hardship.
Importance of emotional intelligence (EQ)
Smartest people may be academically brilliant but not always fulfilled in life. You may see people socially incompetent and unsuccessful at work or in their personal relationships. The intellectual ability or your intelligence quotient (IQ) isn’t enough on its own to achieve success in life. Indeed, your IQ can help you get good marks, but it’s your EQ that will help you manage the stress and emotions when facing your final exams.
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) matters just as much as the better-known IQ when it comes to happiness and success in your relationships, career, and personal goals. Bring stress into balance and learn to tolerate even unpleasant emotions that reflect a person’s strong emotional level. No matter how worried or emotionally out of control you feel, if you have good emotional intelligence life becomes easier and more contented.
Taruna Sah said, “Emotional intelligence impacts many different aspects of your daily life, such as the way you behave and the way you interact with others. You can use the understanding of emotions to relate well to other people, form healthier relationships, achieve greater success at work, and lead a more fulfilling life.
How to build emotional intelligence (EQ)
These major skills help an individual to develop emotional intelligence:
- Self-management — Managing stress is the first step to build emotional intelligence. Managing your emotions in healthy ways, like taking the right initiative, fulfilling commitments, and adapt yourself according to changing circumstances, you will be able to control impulsive feelings and behaviours. Being self -aware is not sufficient of itself. One should be capable to deal with their emotions too. Discover your potential and flaws, and find out how they affect your thoughts and behaviour and act accordingly.
- Self-awareness — Self-awareness involves understanding yourself and your behaviour on three levels. 1) What you are doing, 2) how you feel about it, and 3) figuring out what you don’t know about yourself. Most of us don’t know how we act and what we do half of the time. We’re on autopilot — texting on WhatsApp, posting pictures on Instagram and checking emails. Finding space for our own self and thinking about our life, become difficult these days due to these social media distractions. Actually, we are usually involved in these distractions to avoid a lot of uncomfortable emotions that continuously miffed us. We should be more aware of our own self to build emotional intelligence.
- Social awareness — Social awareness consists of accepting of emotions want, and concerns of other people, pick up on emotional indications, undergo comfortable socially and know the power dynamics in a group or organization. If you’re able to develop and maintain good relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well in a team, and manage conflict, these qualities show your social consciousness.
- Relationship Management — The entire point of developing emotional intelligence ultimately encourages healthier relationships in life. Many of us are disconnected from our emotions—especially strong emotions such as anger, sadness, fear because since childhood we’ve been taught to hide our emotion, so we attempt to shut off our feelings. But while you can deny or numb your feelings, you can’t eliminate them. They’re still there, whether you’re aware of them or not. A void always remains somewhere in us.
Relationships are eventually the way we express our values. Our emotions carry out those values by encouraging our actions for that person. Unfortunately, without being connected to all of your emotions, you can’t manage stress, fully understand. Recognize your own emotions to create healthier relationships.
- Motivation- Motivation is a key component towards attempting to do things with full attention and energy, this helps in handling a responsibility better when leading a group or team. It involves our personal reasons for doing something; it’s a combination of our drive, initiative, commitment, optimism, and persistence to accomplish something beyond money or recognition. Research shows that optimism is the single biggest behaviour that positively affects our lives.
- Empathy- Being able to recognize others while being caught up on your own thing? This component is called empathy. This is immense quality to have while dealing with a large group of people to work efficiently. A leader with well-built emotional intelligence recognizes and appreciates the successful performance of the team members.
- Meditation- Meditation and deep breathing enable people to stay in the present and provide more control to get better stability in mind and body. Deep breathing provides energy to a body, which is required to replace negative thoughts and improve the mental health of an individual.
Habits to Develop a Higher EQ
The most effective way to enhance your EQ is to engage in regular habits that strengthen the communication between the rational mind and the emotional mind. Tapping into self-awareness and practising mindfulness are great ways to strengthen the brain and build connections between its rational and emotional zones. Emotionally intelligent people notice their emotions which are not always easy, but it can be improved with a regular mindfulness or meditation practice.
Emotionally intelligent people also get into the habit of recognizing when their stress levels rise, and they don’t allow stress to take over. Instead, they build healthy habits to reduce stress and remain calm. Those with high EQs make positivity a regular practice. Even when things look dire, they can find gratitude and positivity. This helps them make the best possible decisions during the toughest of times.
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