Healthy Signs of Emotional Intelligence

Building Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is a trait many employers look for when hiring. Fortunately, we all possess the basic components of emotional intelligence, i.e., self-awareness, control, motivation, empathy and social skills – all personal attributes that can be exercised and improved (see the emotional intelligence training London we have available). By building upon these, you can increase what’s known as your Emotional Quotient (EQ), which, in turn, can dramatically improve your performance at work.

Self-awareness

Meditation is one way of becoming more aware of how you feel. Keeping a journal to jot down your feelings is another way to become more aware of how you feel about certain situations and events. Just taking a little time out at the end of each day to examine how the day has gone can help you recognise the triggers that affect your emotional balance.

Self-control

Once you’re more aware of your own emotions, and how certain situations and triggers affect them, it’s easier to take action to influence and control the events that lead to emotional changes, as well as how you feel and react to those scenarios.

Self-motivation

When it comes to what motivates and inspires you, firstly, it’s important to understand what’s important to you in terms of values and ethics. That way you can hold yourself accountable for both failures and successes. Give yourself praise when you succeed, but remember too that rejection and failure is part of life. How you deal with it can have an enormous impact on your self-esteem. Instead, view failures as a learning experience. One of the best ways to get motivated is to appreciate what you have. Be grateful for all the things that bring you happiness. After all, that’s why you do what you do.

Empathy and social skills

Once you understand the basic principles behind your reactions to situations and people, it can help you deal with stress and relate better to how others are feeling. For example, when you’re angry with someone, before saying something you might regret, hold back and take time to analyse why you feel angry. Put yourself in their position, view the situation objectively and challenge yourself to come up with more positive ways of resolving issues with others.

Promote positivity

One of the best ways to boost your emotional intelligence is by transforming negative, or stressful experiences into positive ones. Practise calmness. When you encounter a difficult situation, take time to review the scenario and remain calm. Remind yourself that acting any other way will not improve the outcome. In fact, it’s more likely to make things worse.

When it comes to determining success, your EQ is just as important as your IQ. Some experts believe that 90% of best performers have high emotional intelligence. The good news is, as we’ve seen here, there’s plenty you can do to exercise and maximise your EQ to perform better in the workplace.