Emotional Intelligence

EQ has been around since the inception of the term by Daniel Goleman in 1980s. However as I was trying to understand the concept for nearly two years now, I wasn't able to make much headway till very recent weeks. Then it happened! I could see through the complex web of information on the subject and look at it simply. On gaining clarity on the concept, I wondered how the world is full of books and stuff that makes understanding of simple concepts as difficult as it can be. Further Last week I was able to internalize EQ for the first time in life.

Let me attempt a simplistic view of EI and see if you can gain something by implementing the concept in your life.

Step 1 : What is Emotional Intelligence?

EI is the ability of an individual to understand his emotions, manage his reactions to these emotions, understand others emotions and manage good relationships

Step 2 : How does it apply in my life?

We typically ignore what our emotions are telling us. All emotions are accompanied by physiological changes. By being open to reading these signals from our body, we can easily understand what our emotions are doing to us. After recognizing the emotion we can standby for couple of seconds and respond (using our brains). When we are with others, we can be aware of what the other is feeling and accordingly behave with him/her. This will give us lasting relationships.

Step 3 : Can we improve our EI?

EI is a variable. We are born with some of it. Over the years we set up our beliefs and habits which form our EI. The EQ changes with our experiences. In fact our EQ today is the result of the way we have decided to lead our lives over the years. While we can improve our EQ, we can easily let it decrease as well. Having a good EQ is like maintain a good physique and needs regular tuning.