Last Updated on January 17, 2023 by Editors Desk
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably heard of emotional intelligence as recently as last year or two – but that’s about all you know. You may have even read articles and watched videos that talk about the importance of EQ or how it can help you in so many aspects of your life. But what does this really mean? How can having EQ help you achieve goals? Let me explain…
What is emotional intelligence (or EQ for short)?
EQ is the ability to identify emotions in others, understand your own emotions, and use your emotions as a tool to improve interpersonal interactions. If you have higher EQ – or a stronger emotional intelligence – you can learn to better understand your feelings, and other’s feelings, and use this to improve your relationships, career, and life.
Emotional intelligence is about understanding the feelings of others and applying this knowledge to better communicate and relate to others. EQ isn’t about “being smarter” or “knowing more” – it’s about having the ability to get inside another person’s head and truly understand where they’re coming from. And this is incredibly powerful.
Why is it important to have emotional intelligence?
You’d think that with all of the advances we’ve made in the field of psychology, we’d be living in a world full of super-empathetic people. But the truth is, we’re incredibly far from that. In fact, most of us are quite awful at identifying and expressing our emotions, of both ourselves and others. This is problematic for a few reasons.
Firstly, the ability to identify and express your own feelings is a critical step in being able to fully understand and relate to others. You can’t fully understand someone else’s feelings if you don’t have a full understanding of your own. Secondly, a huge part of both mental and physical health is a healthy, balanced relationship with emotions. Having strong mental health means avoiding stress, anxiety, and depression while having a healthy emotional relationship with yourself means avoiding self-criticism and self-doubt.
Ways a person with high EQ acts differently
An extroverted person with high emotional intelligence will be able to better express their feelings and use them as a tool to better connect with others. They’ll be more likely to talk about their feelings and use words such as “I feel upset when…” versus “I’m upset when…” They’ll be able to clearly express their emotions in their body language and tone of voice. And they’ll be more likely to ask for what they want, while asking how they can help. An extroverted person with high emotional intelligence is also likely to be more empathetic. They’ll be more likely to feel the feelings of others and be quick to understand where another person is coming from. This doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily be right – it just means they’ll be able to better understand where the other person is coming from.
Strategies for improving your EQ
The key to improving your emotional intelligence is simply to focus on becoming more aware of your own emotions and the emotions of others. This will help you identify emotions more quickly and be more in touch with your feelings. You can also try journaling or visualizing to help you connect with your feelings. Get in touch with the emotions that are behind your thoughts and actions, and you’ll be better equipped to make better decisions. There are also a number of proven strategies for improving EQ. Make sure to use them in combination to get the most out of your efforts.
- Identify your strengths – Make a list of your talents, interests, and hobbies. Find out what skills you have that are particularly strong and focus on improving those areas.
- Challenge negative thoughts – Think about all of the negative self-talk you have. Write it all down and try to identify the underlying emotions behind these thoughts.
- Practice gratitude – Change how you think about negative thoughts by replacing them with gratitude.
- Cultivate relationships – Be open and honest with your friends and family. Be there for them, whether that means listening to or doing things for them.
- Stay focused – Make a plan for how you’re going to focus on your emotional intelligence development.
Take-home message
Emotional intelligence is about understanding the feelings of others and applying this knowledge to better communicate and relate to others. It’s about truly understanding where another person is coming from, and what they’re experiencing. This can be challenging, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged by it. But it’s something that can be improved with practice and dedication. It’s important to remember that EQ doesn’t just help with relationships – it helps with every area of your life.
If you have higher EQ, you’ll be better equipped to identify goals and priorities, set boundaries and limits, and plan for the future. Emotional intelligence will likely have the most impact on your life if you make it a priority. If you’re not actively trying to improve your emotional intelligence, it’s unlikely you have much room to grow in this area.
