It isn’t simply about understanding your emotions; it’s about managing them so you can improve your experiences and relationships in work and in life
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Intellectual intelligence (IQ) is important, but without emotional intelligence (EQ), you can only go so far.
To be emotionally intelligent means having the ability to recognize, identify, and manage emotions in an effective manner, regardless of the situation.
Emotional intelligence facilitates the practice of empathy, resilience, reasoning, and stress management. It also teaches people to be anticipate and influence the behaviors of others.
More and more people are realizing the significance of EQ and how it plays a vital role in helping people to navigate seamlessly through various social settings. From the workplace and social gatherings to schools and home life, it’s important to have a level of consciousness of your emotions and behaviors. Without emotional intelligence, you run the risk of having difficulty regulating your emotions and feelings, a challenge which often results in personal and professional conflicts and misunderstandings.
Practicing and improving your emotional intelligence teaches you to understand your true emotions rather than suppressing them.
Successfully interpreting your feelings is the first step towards effectively channel them to create and build productive relationships, personally and professionally.
The following points illustrate why emotional intelligence is a necessary — and attainable — life skill:
Self-Awareness
The first step to emotional intelligence is self-awareness — the ability to identify the nature and influence of your emotions. Once you perceive the emotion, you’re able to define its effects. People who are self-aware respond to complications in a composed manner and don’t let their emotions get the best of them. Self-awareness allows a person to recognize their emotions and their effects on their decisions, especially in stressful scenarios.
Self-Management
Self-management is another vital skill if you want to keep your emotions and impulses in check. Letting your sentiments get the best of you can land you in uncomfortable situations and may risk your relationship with others. When you find yourself in situations that require you to make serious life decisions, acting on impulse can limit your options and solutions. But taking the time to reflect and evaluate conditions enables you to make a collected decision, driven by your conscious intentions.
Relationship Management
Relationship management enables people to build strong relationships and bonds based on mutual understanding and respect. This is a highly significant skill, particularly for those individuals who professionally deal with clients on a daily basis. For instance, a customer service agent who lacks relationship management skills won’t establish a reliable bond with potential customers. On an interpersonal level, when you can effectively communicate, influence, and inspire others, you have taken a step towards developing strong bonds of trust and intimacy with others.
Social Awareness
Social awareness is the ability to perceive and understand another’s emotions by observing body language, tone of speech, and facial expressions. When you’re aware of your social surroundings, you are in a better position to consider how to interact and respond to others because you can pick up on emotional cues and recognize the power dynamics in groups which makes it easier to interpret people’s concerns and needs. This is particularly important for business leaders tasked with understanding the emotional concerns of their team. The higher your emotional intelligence, the more likely you are equipped to successfully build and manage your staff and colleagues.
You may also enjoy reading How to Use Mindfulness to Improve Your Business Negotiations by Laura Helen
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