Table of contents:
- IQ and EQ, what's the difference?
- Four things in your life that can fall apart without an EQ
- 1. Your performance at school or work
- 2. Your physical health
- 3. Your mental health
- 4. Your relationships with other people
- Six keys to improving EQ
- 1. Reducing negative emotions
- 2. Practice staying calm and coping with stress
- 3. Practice expressing difficult emotions
- 4. Be proactive, not reactive, when dealing with people who trigger your emotions
- 5. Ability to rise from adversity
- 6. Ability to express feelings in personal relationships
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is how you express your emotions and cope with them in a positive way even in stressful situations. People with high EQ are often able to communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome difficulties and defuse conflicts. This knowledge and understanding are, for the most part, non-verbal processes that shape thinking and influence how well you relate to other people.
IQ and EQ, what's the difference?
Unlike intellectual intelligence or what is known as IQ, EQ is an ability that can be learned, not something that you are born with. However, studying emotional intelligence is meaningless if you don't apply that knowledge in your life. Just because you know you have to do something, doesn't mean you will — especially when you're under stress, which can overpower your good intentions.
As is well known, being the smartest, most successful person does not guarantee that you will be the most prosperous person in life. You may know people who are academically bright but socially incompetent, and who are unsuccessful in their work or personal relationships. Intellectual intelligence (IQ) is not sufficient by itself to be successful in life.
Yes, your IQ can help you get into college, but it is emotional intelligence aka EQ that will help you deal with stress and emotions when you face your final exams. IQ and EQ exist simultaneously and are most effective when they build on each other.
Four things in your life that can fall apart without an EQ
1. Your performance at school or work
Emotional intelligence can help you solve social problems at work, lead and motivate others, and excel in your career. In fact, when it comes to assessing prospective employees, many companies now consider emotional intelligence as important as technical ability and use EQ tests before hiring them.
2. Your physical health
If you can't deal with your emotions, you likely won't be able to deal with stress. This can cause serious health problems.
Uncontrolled stress can increase blood pressure, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility, and accelerate the aging process. The first step to increasing emotional intelligence is learning how to relieve stress.
3. Your mental health
Uncontrolled emotions and stress can also have an impact on mental health, leaving you vulnerable to anxiety and depression. If you can't understand your emotions, don't feel good about your emotions, and can't handle your emotions, you run the risk of not being able to build strong relationships, which can make you feel lonely and isolated.
4. Your relationships with other people
By understanding your emotions and knowing how to deal with them, you will be better able to express how you feel and understand how other people feel. This allows you to communicate more effectively and build stronger relationships, both at work and in your personal life.
Six keys to improving EQ
1. Reducing negative emotions
This is perhaps the most important aspect of EQ, which is the ability to deal with your own emotions effectively so they don't overwhelm your mind and don't affect your ability to make decisions.
To change your negative feelings about a situation, you must first change the way you think about it. For example, try not to be prone to prejudice against people's actions. Remember, there may be good intentions behind their actions.
2. Practice staying calm and coping with stress
Most people have experienced stress in life. How you handle this stressful situation will affect your EQ. For example, are you assertive, or reactive? Stay calm, or overwhelmed?
When under pressure, the most important thing to remember is to stay calm. For example, by washing your face with cold water or starting aerobic exercise to reduce stress.
3. Practice expressing difficult emotions
There are times in your life when you need to set boundaries so that other people know where you stand. This can include:
- dare to disagree with others (without being rude)
- say "no" without feeling guilty
- set personal priorities
- trying to get what you deserve
- protect yourself from stress and distraction.
4. Be proactive, not reactive, when dealing with people who trigger your emotions
Most people have experienced people who annoyed you or made life difficult for you. You might get "stuck" with this kind of person at work or even at home. It's easy to let people like this influence you and ruin your day.
You can try to calm down first before you talk to people who often trigger negative emotions in you, especially when you feel angry. You can also try to see the situation from the person's point of view.
However, being empathetic does not mean tolerating inappropriate behavior. You still need to emphasize that there are consequences for everything.
5. Ability to rise from adversity
Life isn't always easy — everyone knows that. How you choose to think, feel, and behave in difficult situations can often determine whether you will continue to have hope or despair, whether you will continue to be optimistic or frustrated, and whether you will experience victory or defeat.
In any difficult situation you encounter, ask questions such as,
- "What lessons can be learned here?"
- "How can I learn from this experience?"
- "What's the most important now?"
- "If I think differently, is there a better answer?"
The higher the quality of the questions you ask, the better answers you will get. Ask constructive questions based on learning process and priorities, and you can get the right perspective to help you cope with the situation at hand.
6. Ability to express feelings in personal relationships
The ability to express affectionate emotions is essential for maintaining close personal relationships. These emotions can be conveyed through speech, body language, and behavior. For example, through positive eye contact, smiling, listening with empathy, or simply offering food.
Not only do you have to be able to share deep feelings with others in your personal relationships, but you must also be able to respond positively when that person expresses deep emotions to you.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
