Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence, quite simply, is about being intelligent about your emotions!
But of course, 1) that’s not so easy to do, and 2) there’s actually quite a bit more to it than that …
Emotional intelligence, often referred to as our ‘EQ’, has been around as a general term since the mid 1990s when Dr Daniel Goleman brought it to the public’s attention through his book, “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ”.
And now we often see ‘emotional intelligence’ or ‘EQ’ being referred to in newspaper and magazine articles, particularly around areas in our life where we interact with others such as through parenting and leadership.
So what is ‘emotional intelligence’ and why should we develop it?
What is emotional intelligence?
We all have emotional intelligence.
But it is multi-faceted. For many of us, we shine in some areas, and are challenged in others.
There are 2 sides to the EQ coin – the personal side and the relational side.
The personal side is about being self aware and effective in the way we manage ourselves. This requires us to understand our beliefs, values and emotional patterns and how they drive our choices, decisions and our actions.
The relational side is about being aware of what is going for others, being able to put ourselves in their shoes, and being able to relate to others in ways that build trust, connectedness and mutual respect.
The Applied Emotional Intelligence model here explores the fundamental aspects of developing emotional intelligence:
You can raise your emotional intelligence by working through this model in the following ways:
Healthy Attitudes: by raising your self regard and your regard for others – the fundamental attitudes that underpin our ability to be authentic and emotionally intelligent
Focused Attention: by developing the habit of focusing your attention on the present, the here and now, and getting to know, in any moment, what you are thinking and feeling so that you can be choiceful in how you act, rather than be reactive
Purposeful Action: by taking charge of your emotional life and developing your personal mastery, you can create new emotionally intelligent habits, raise your self awareness, engage in reflective practice, and consciously choose your behaviours and actions
For the last 12 years I have been researching, studying and exploring the role our emotional intelligence plays in experiencing success, happiness and financial freedom.
And there are 8 fundamental factors that underpin the emotionally intelligent mindset. If you develop these 8 aspects of emotional intelligence, you will tranform the way you relate with yourself and others, becoming more accountable for the way you live your life, and more collaborative in your approach to your relationships both at home and at work.
These 8 factors are split into the 2 sides of the EQ coin.
IntraPersonal Success Factors
Openmindedness: what or who do you judge (including yourself) that prevents you from being open to new solutions or ways of doing things?
Positive Expectations: where in your life do you hold negative expectations of yourself, others and life?
Openness to Change: how comfortable are you with change and uncertainty, and what do you find you need to control?
Resilience: how quickly do you bounce back from setbacks and how easy do you find it to keep yourself focused?
InterPersonal Success Factors
Desire to Connect: how easy do you find it to connect with others that enables you to truly inspire and influence?
Relationship Confidence: how balanced and trusting are each of your personal and professional relationships?
Healthy Control: how easy do you find it to share control with others, at home and at work?
Healthy Expression: how comfortable are you understanding your emotions, those of others, and enabling everyone to express themselves?
How To Raise Your EQ
Here are two ways in which you can start raising your EQ, right now.
1. Check out your EQ through my online, great value, insightful EQ questionnaire and personalised report at http://www.ipalite.com/eq
2. Sign up for my 8-week online course which includes your personalised EQ profile at http://www.minds4success.co.uk/raiseyoureq