EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Any one who wants to excel in ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE; IN EVERY KIND OF RELATIONSHIP THAT EXIST, be it family, spiritual, professional or other  Interpersonal relationship must be Emotionally Intelligent. Any good leader who wants to excel in his/her leadership role must have Emotional Intelligence otherwise known as EI. 

A good business personnel needs EI. 

In a romantic relationship, it is important that both parties possess some level of emotional intelligence for the relationship to be fruitful. 

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions.

Other times, Emotional intelligence is usually defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions. 

People with high emotional intelligence can recognize their own emotions and those of others, they can use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior. They are able to discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, and adjust emotions to adapt to environments. EI is also the ability to understand, interpret, and respond to the emotions of others. 

Imagine a world where you don't understand when a friend was feeling sad or when a co-worker was angry. Just try to imagine what kind of relationship or work environment that will create. This shows how important the need to possess emotional intelligence is. 

Some experts even suggest that it can be more important than intelligence quotient (IQ) as far as your OVERALL SUCCESS IN LIFE is concerned. Emotional intelligence is essential for good interpersonal communication. Experts also believe that THIS ABILITY IS MORE IMPORTANT IN DETERMINING LIFE SUCCESS THAN IQ alone. 

Emotional intelligence otherwise known as emotional quotient (EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.

Note that to manage or understand others' emotions, you need to have mastered your own first. 

There are some ingredients referred to as ELEMENTS or CHARACTERISTICS that you must exude before you can be said to be emotionally intelligent or posses EI. And they are:

📍Self-awareness.

📍Self-regulation.

📍Internal Motivation.

📍Empathy and

📍Social skills.

(I wish I have the luxury of time to pick and talk about each characteristic one after the other. Please learn more about those on your own). 

There is no need to fret if you have not been exhibiting the qualities above. There are ways you can improve your emotional intelligence. This will be itemized in the next paragraph. Follow me:

TIPS FOR IMPROVING EI

1. Listen  

2. Empathize    

3. Reflect

Note that IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT because emotional intelligence INFLUENCES PERFORMANCE, RELATIONSHIPS and DECISION MAKING. If you don't have it, it can be changed or developed. It is important majorly because it affects every area of your life. 

Ability to manage emotions is a very key factor under emotional intelligence. Any one who has emotional intelligence is intentional in their relations with others and in decision making. Emotional intelligence helps you to know what to priorities and what to pay attention or react to. 

PRACTICAL: To handle an angry co-worker, the emotionally intelligent response would be to take some time before responding. This allows everyone to calm their emotions and think more rationally about all the factors surrounding the argument. This is called thinking before reacting. 

Anyone who is emotionally intelligent can not be selfish or self-centered. Lai Lai! This is because they are empathic; they think of others' good even as they think of their own. 

HOW TO USE 

Emotional intelligence can be used in many different ways in your daily life. 

Some different ways to practice emotional intelligence include:

Being able to accept criticism and responsibility

Being able to move on after making a mistake

Being able to say no when you need to

Being able to solve problems in ways that work

Being able to share your feelings with others 

Having empathy for other people

Having great listening skills

Knowing why you do the things you do

Not being judgemental of others

Your emotional intelligence is your responsibility! If you have it, use it, if you don't have it, acquire it because you can't perform optimally without it.

I wish you life's sense. All the best!

Compiled by 

Elizabeth Oduwaiye

Life Skills/Youth Counsellor

Picture Credit: Google