14 Mar2016
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One of the core areas of emotional intelligence is self-awareness. In many ways, this area is the cornerstone of all the other areas. In order to be aware of others’ emotions, for example, you need to be aware of your own emotions.
Knowing how to express your emotions can often help you in managing those emotions. You can, of course, bottle everything up and not share your real thoughts, feelings, or beliefs with anyone. But, not only is this approach hard to do, it makes for a very lonely life. Nobody really gets to know you, and you don’t get to know others very well, either. All humans share the desire to have intimate relationships with a few trusted people.
Everyone tends to go about their work from day to day doing what they have to do. But how many people are really excited about the work that they do? Many people feel that they’re stuck in a rut at their jobs. But someone didn’t magically pluck them up and place them where they are. Usually, by following opportunities or money, people end up doing the kind of work that they do.
Some people seem to think that they’re good at everything. Others constantly underestimate their strengths. The ideal situation, of course, is to accurately know your strengths and weaknesses. Knowing yourself helps you make choices in life. For example, by focusing on your strengths you can get more of what you want out of life.
Social responsibility is one of the highest levels of emotional experience. It demonstrates that you really care about others, especially those less fortunate. Being socially responsible isn’t about personal gain — it’s about what you can contribute to help other people.
Managing your own emotions, especially impulsiveness, provides another pillar of emotional intelligence (in addition to being aware of your emotions and managing other people’s emotions). By becoming more emotionally self-aware, you better prepare yourself for emotional self-management.
Everyone has routines and set ways of doing things. For a society to run efficiently, it needs a certain amount of rules and regulations. However, you can experience problems when you get stuck in a rut and become inflexible to change. By being too rigid you miss out on opportunities, fall behind in learning new techniques and approaches, and tend to deal with personal and work problems in the same, sometimes unproductive, ways.
People high in emotional intelligence are happy people. And they’re not just happy because good things happen to them.