Tip #16- Adult Emotional Intelligence - Part 1
School districts around the country are on a mission to instill social and emotional skills in children in grades K-12. The focus is to teach youth to manage their emotions, develop healthy relationships, and make good decisions for academic, personal, and career success; namely, strengthen children’s emotional intelligence. Although the concepts surrounding emotional intelligence (EI) are not new, these soft skills have recently come to light as keys to personal and professional success.
The buzz surrounding emotional intelligence has raised questions about what EI entails, how it is measured, how its gained, and how it can benefit individuals. Emotional intelligence is comprised of self-regulation, self-awareness, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Put very simply, E.I. is your ability to acknowledge your own emotions, recognize emotions in others and use that information to guide your behavior
According to Justin Bariso, author of EQ Applied, there are 13 signs of “high emotional intelligence”: For the purpose of this posting, we will explore 6:
1. You think about feelings.
Emotional intelligence begins with what is called self- and social awareness, the ability to recognize emotions (and their impact) in both yourself and others.
2. You pause.
The pause is as simple as taking a moment to stop and think before you speak or act. (Easy in theory, difficult in practice.) This can help save you from embarrassing moments or from making commitments too quickly.
In other words, pausing helps you refrain from making a permanent decision based on a temporary emotion.
3. You strive to control your thoughts.
You don't have much control over the emotion you experience in a given moment. But you can control your reaction to those emotions--by focusing on your thoughts.
4. You benefit from criticism.
Nobody enjoys negative feedback. But you know that criticism is a chance to learn, even if it's not delivered in the best way. And even when it's unfounded, it gives you a window into how others think.
5. You show authenticity.
Authenticity doesn't mean sharing everything about yourself, to everyone, all of the time. It does mean saying what you mean, meaning what you say, and sticking to your values and principles above all else.
6. You demonstrate empathy.
The ability to show empathy, which includes understanding others' thoughts and feelings, helps you connect with others. Instead of judging or labeling others, you work hard to see things through their eyes.
Empathy doesn't necessarily mean agreeing with another person's point of view. Rather, it's about striving to understand--which allows you to build deeper, more connected relationships.
Next week, we will explore the rest of the emotional intelligence signs.
Have a fantastic week! Tina
