How To Improve Your Emotional Intelligence

There are certain people who appear to be exceptional when dealing with others. These people always seem to know the right thing to say and have no problem taking criticism. They have great situational awareness and always seem to get what they want. These are characteristics of people with high emotional intelligence. This is a skill most people can improve and use to benefit their everyday life. How can you improve your emotional intelligence? First, we would have to understand what it is to begin with.

What Exactly is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand and manage your emotions. Not only that, you also have to be able to do the same with the emotions of others. Psychologists suggest that if you can name the emotion you are feeling, you are one step closer to understanding why you're experiencing that emotion. This insight into yourself and others can help you manage your thoughts and prevent you from having responses that don't appropriately match the situation.

How Beneficial is High Emotional Intelligence?

All emotions, positive and negative, prepare the body to react with different responses. For example, anger can cause you to be irritable or rage. Fear can bring on anxiety and nervousness. Excitement can bring on joy and enthusiasm, while sadness can bring sorrow and misery. For some, these emotions can interfere with rational thought processes and distort perceptions of reality. Understanding what you're feeling boosts your confidence and your ability to communicate clearly. These skills can be beneficial for anyone looking to be in leadership or those looking to influence others.

Another benefit of improving emotional intelligence is greater self-control. People with high emotional intelligence know what and what not to say in important situations. They understand that speaking and acting emotionally can cause others to lose confidence in them, which can make it harder for them to achieve their goals.

How Can I Improve My Emotional Intelligence?

As mentioned above, the first step is being able to recognize and name your emotions. Once you can do that, you can start to notice patterns of emotional thinking. Doing this can be difficult for some, so working with a licensed therapist can help you with this step. Emotional thinking can be described as the inability to distinguish between thought and emotions. Someone who suffers from this can believe that their emotional response to a situation validates its reality. For example, when they receive criticism for their work, they can feel that their input is inadequate. Therefore, they must be worthless.

The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. -Albert Einstein

Another way to improve your emotional intelligence is by forming good habits. Now that we can recognize our emotions and emotional reasoning, we can do something to change them. A good way to start is through expressing emotions. Expression of emotions can be difficult at times, but properly doing so can give us the opportunity to reduce our stress and better manage our anxiety. With those two mental barriers out of the way, it can be easier to think clearly and have a boost in confidence. There are many strategies for expressing our emotions, and all of them can be influenced by many things, including family values and cultural backgrounds. One of the easiest and effective ways is through journaling. Here's a great article on how to get started with journaling.

Another helpful habit to start is listening carefully. It may seem simple, but people with high emotional intelligence listen differently. They listen to understand rather than listening to respond. Doing this leaves less room for misinterpretations and frustrations. It also reduces interruptions and the need to ask for the other person to repeat themselves. Overall, improving your listening skills communicates back to the person that you are present and respect what they have to say, which makes for an effective line of communication.

Summary

Emotional Intelligence is a skill that can be a game changer in your personal and professional life. Developing this skill can give you insight into your emotional state and the ones of others around you.