In my newest eBook "Ways to Develop Emotional Intelligence," we start off by learning to identify your feelings as well as others.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
“Emotional Intelligence” mainly refers to an individual’s ability to recognize, process, and express their emotions effectively in order to react to situations more calmly and logically. This term also involves the capacity of a person to be aware of other people’s emotional states so that they become better at handling interpersonal relationships by being more empathetic and understanding towards other people.
Emotional intelligence is essentially a way of using your emotions to guide reasoning to facilitate greater levels of productivity. Emotional intelligence is also about understanding the emotions of others so that you are better able to comfort and persuade them. Therefore, emotional intelligence does not only affect your personal relationships with your loved ones, but also determines your ability to work in a team. This is why developing emotional intelligence is crucial for achieving success in your professional career to a great extent.
The Five Components of Emotional Intelligence
According to most psychologists, emotional intelligence is made up of the following five components:
· Self-Awareness
· Self-Control
· Motivation
· Empathy
· Social Skills
Identifying What You Feel
The ability to identify what you feel is the first step towards understanding the feelings that ultimately guide your behavior. If you are able to understand the reasons for feeling a certain way, you will be able to process those feelings more easily and find a solution to work around them.
When you lack self-awareness, dealing with your emotions can often feel a lot like battling a monster in the dark. Since you don’t know what you’re actually up against, you don’t know how to win the fight against it. This can make you feel frustrated and helpless.
Sometimes, people also think if they simply brush their feelings aside and keep their mind off something, they will be able to stop feeling a certain way. This is actually far from the truth. Keeping yourself busy and distracted will only lead to bottling up your emotions. As a result, your emotions will build up over time and explode in a reaction when you expect it least.
This is why we suggest you take the time out to contemplate how you feel when you are overwhelmed with emotions. Sitting in silence and solitude and reflecting on your situation can help you find the root cause of a problem. This can help you think objectively and clear your head to find inner peace.
Sometimes, evaluating your behavior can make you realize your mistakes and you can apologize to a loved one to remedy the problem.
Furthermore, this introspective self-evaluation process is also necessary for you to be able to successfully communicate how you feel to others. Once you’ve given ample thought to a problem, you will have the confidence and motivation to bring up the problem with others. As a result, you can actually talk things out and explain your point of view to voice your concerns tactfully. This can be a great way to resolve a conflict.
The bottom line is that if you pay proper attention to what you feel and why you feel a certain way, you can actually think logically above the problem. This can help you find a solution to the problem that is causing your anxiety. As a result, you can practically do something to make yourself feel better instead of simply ignoring how you feel.
If you'd like to learn more about Emotional Intelligence and how to develop your emotional intelligence, check out my book on Amazon Kindle.