//2//Emotional Intelligence : Key Skills for Raising Emotional Intelligence// When it comes to happiness and success in life, emotional intelligence (EQ) matters just as much as intellectual ability (IQ). Emotional intelligence helps build stronger relationships, succeed at work, and achieve career and personal goals. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence impacts many different aspects of daily life, such as the way we behave and the way we interact with others. If we have high emotional intelligence you are able to recognize our own emotional state and the emotional states of others, and engage with people in a way that draws them to us. we can use this understanding of emotions to relate better to other people, form healthier relationships, achieve greater success at work, and lead a more fulfilling life. Emotional intelligence consists of four attributes: /1/ Self-awareness – we recognize our own emotions and how they affect our thoughts and behavior, know our strengths and weaknesses, and have self-confidence. /2/ Self-management – we are able to control impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage our emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments, and adapt to changing circumstances. /3/ Social awareness – we can understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of other people, pick up on emotional cues, feel comfortable socially, and recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization. /4/ Relationship management – we know how to develop and maintain good relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well in a team, and manage conflict. Emotional intelligence affects: /a/our performance at work. Emotional intelligence can help us navigate the social complexities of the workplace, lead and motivate others, and excel in our career. /b/our physical health. If we are unable to manage our stress levels, it can lead to serious health problems. Uncontrolled stress can raise blood pressure, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility, and speed up the aging process. The first step to improving emotional intelligence is to learn how to relieve stress. /c/our mental health. Uncontrolled stress can also impact our mental health, making us vulnerable to anxiety and depression. If we are unable to understand and manage our emotions, we shall also be open to mood swings, while an inability to form strong relationships can leave us feeling lonely and isolated. /d/our relationships. By understanding our emotions and how to control them, we are better able to express how we feel and understand how others are feeling. This allows us to communicate more effectively and forge stronger relationships, both at work and in our personal life. raising and improving emotional intelligence: All information to the brain comes through our senses, and when this information is overwhelmingly stressful or emotional, instinct will take over and our ability to act will be limited to the flight, fight, or freeze response. Therefore, to have access to the wide range of choices and the ability to make good decisions, we need to be able to bring our emotions into balance at will. Memory is also strongly linked to emotion. By learning to use the emotional part of our brain as well as the rational,we not only expand our range of choices when it comes to responding to a new event, but we also factor emotional memory into our decision-making process. This prevent us from continually repeating earlier mistakes. To improve our emotional intelligence and our decision-making abilities, we need to understand and control the emotional side of our brain. This is done by developing five key skills. Developing emotional intelligence through five key skills: /1/ The ability to quickly reduce stress:High levels of stress can overwhelm the mind and body, getting in the way of our ability to accurately “read” a situation, hear what someone else is saying, be aware of our own feelings and needs, and communicate clearly. Being able to quickly calm our self down and relieve stress helps us to stay balanced, focused, and in control—no matter what challenges we face or how stressful a situation becomes. The first step to reducing stress is recognizing what stress feels like. How does your body feel when you’re stressed? Are your muscles or stomach tight or sore? Are your hands clenched? Is your breath shallow? Being aware of your physical response to stress will help regulate tension when it occurs. Everyone reacts differently to stress. If you tend to become angry or agitated under stress, you will respond best to stress-relieving activities that quiet you down. If you tend to become depressed or withdrawn, you will respond best to stress-relieving activities that are stimulating. If you tend to freeze -speeding up in some ways while slowing down in others,you need stress-relieving activities that provide both comfort and stimulation. The best way to reduce stress quickly is by engaging one or more of your senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Each person responds differently to sensory input, so you need to find things that are soothing and/or energizing to you.Discover the stress-busting techniques that work for you thus help you relieve stress /2/ The ability to recognize and manage emotions;emotional awareness is being able to connect to our emotions—having a moment-to-moment awareness of our emotions and how they influence our thoughts and actions.it is the key to understanding our self and others. Many people are disconnected from their emotions—especially strong core emotions such as anger, sadness, fear, and joy. This may be the result of negative childhood experiences that taught to shut off feelings. But although we can distort, deny, or numb our feelings, we can’t eliminate them. They’re still there, whether we’re aware of them or not. Unfortunately, without emotional awareness, we are unable to fully understand our own motivations and needs, or to communicate effectively with others. In order to be emotionally healthy and emotionally intelligent, we must reconnect to our core emotions, accept them and emotional awareness can be learned at any time of life. If someone haven’t learned how to manage stress, it’s important to do so first. When you can manage stress, you’ll feel more comfortable reconnecting to strong or unpleasant emotions and changing the way you experience and respond to your feelings. /3/The ability to connect with others using nonverbal communication; Being a good communicator requires more than just verbal skills. Often, what we say is less important than how we say it, or the other nonverbal signals we send out—the gestures we make, the way we sit, how fast or how loud we talk, how close we stand, or how much eye contact we make. In order to hold the attention of others and build connection and trust, we need to be aware of, and in control of, this body language. we also need to be able to accurately read and respond to the nonverbal cues that other people send us. our nonverbal messages can produce a sense of interest, trust, excitement, and desire for connection—or they can generate fear, confusion, distrust, and disinterest. successful nonverbal communication depends on our ability to manage stress, recognize your own emotions, and understand the signals we are sending and receiving. When communicating we should Focus on the other person. If we are daydreaming, or thinking about something else, we are almost certain to miss nonverbal cues and other subtleties in the conversation. Eye contact can communicate interest, maintain the flow of a conversation, and help gauge the other person’s response. Pay attention to nonverbal cues sending and receiving, such as facial expression, tone of voice, posture and gestures, touch, and the timing and pace of the conversation. /4/The ability to use humor and play to deal with challenges;Humor, laughter, and play are natural antidotes to life’s difficulties; they lighten our burdens and help us to keep things in perspective. A good hearty laugh reduces stress, elevates mood, and brings your nervous system back into balance.laughter and play enable us to survive annoyances, hard times, and setbacks. Using gentle humor often helps us to say things that might be otherwise difficult to express without creating a flap. Playful communication relieves fatigue and relaxes our body, which allows us to recharge and accomplish more. When you loosen up, we free ourself of rigid ways of thinking and being, allowing you to get creative and see things in new ways. It’s never too late to develop and embrace our playful, humorous side. The more we joke, play, and laughter easier it becomes.thus engagements like hobbies,extracurricular activities,sports all r important in dealing with challenges. /5/ The ability to resolve conflicts positively and with confidence;Conflict and disagreements are inevitable in relationships. Two people can’t possibly have the same needs, opinions, and expectations at all times. However, that needn’t be a bad thing. Resolving conflict in healthy, constructive ways can strengthen trust between people. The ability to manage conflicts in a positive, trust-building way is supported by the previous four skills of emotional intelligence. Once we know how to manage stress, stay emotionally present and aware, communicate non verbally, and use humor and play, we’ll be better equipped to handle emotionally charged situations and catch and defuse many issues before they escalate. When we are not holding on to old hurts and resentments, we can recognize the reality of a current situation and view it as a new opportunity for resolving old feelings about conflicts. Arguments take time and energy, especially if we want to resolve them in a positive way. Consider what is worth arguing about and what is not is very important in resolving conflict. Other people’s hurtful behavior was in the past. To resolve conflict,we need to give up the urge to punish or seek revenge. It takes two people to keep an argument going. we can choose to disengage from a conflict, even if we still disagree. The five skills of emotional intelligence can be learned by anyone, at any time. There is a difference, however, between learning about emotional intelligence and applying that knowledge to our life. Just because we know we should do something doesn’t mean we will—especially when we become overwhelmed by stress, which can hijack our best intentions. In order to permanently change behavior in ways that stand up under pressure,we need to learn how to take advantage of the powerful emotional parts of the brain that remain active and accessible even in times of stress. This means that we can’t simply read about emotional intelligence in order to master it. we have to experience and practice the skills in our everyday life.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 09:50:03 +0000