Emotional Intelligence

What I understood

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, interpret, and respond to the emotions of others. It is being able to understand the actions of other people, why a family member is angry or why a friend has been too quiet and sad.

It is the ability to understand and manage our emotions, and understand the emotions of others without them even telling us.

Kendra Cherry ' s take on Emotional Intelligence:

Components:

  1. Perceiving emotions
  2. Understanding non-verbal signals (body language and facial expressions)

  3. Reasoning with emotions
  4. Using emotions to promote thinking and cognitive ability

  5. Understanding emotions
  6. Interpreting emotions of others, and its cause and meaning

  7. Managing emotions
  8. Regulating emotions and responding appropriately

    Responding to the emotions of others

Impacts:

  1. Thinking before reacting
  2. Greater self-awareness
  3. Empathy for others

How to Use:

  1. Being able to accept criticism and responsibility
  2. Being able to move on after making a mistake
  3. Being able to say no when you need to
  4. Being able to share your feelings with ohters
  5. Being able to solve problems in ways that work for everyone
  6. Having empathy for other people
  7. Having great listening skills
  8. Knowing why you do the things you do
  9. Not being judgmental of others

How is EQ different to IQ?

IQ is something that can be measured by taking a standardised test designed to test intelligence. It is the ability to learn, understand and apply information and skills, along with logical reasoning, word comprehension, math skills, abstract and spatial thinking.

EQ on the other hand, is the ability to identify, evaluate, control and express emotions, perceive and asses the emotions of others, and use emotions to facilitate thinking. There is also ways to measure EQ and it is something that greatly affects the day to day life, career, and relationship with other people.

Something that people usually say is that IQ will help you be successful in school and EQ will help you become successful in life. IQ is something that we are usually born with while EQ is something that develops through our experiences and encounters in life.

Why is EQ important?

Emotional Intelligence is important because it affects our whole life. It involved in our performance at school/work, physical health, mental health, relationships, and social life. It can help make difficult conversations with others better, have grace under pressure, improve our relationships with others, resolve conflicts and work or lead others.

When we are emotionally intelligent, we are able to understand other people just by observing their body language or facial expressions. We are able to reason with our emotions and think carefully in the most difficult situations. We are able to respond appropriately to the challenging situations that arise and to the emotions of others.