How to Boost your Emotional Intelligence by 300%

Research has shown that Mike will be more successful than Robert. They both have the same level of IQ (Intelligence Quotient) but Mike has a higher EI (Emotional Intelligence) than Robert.

In 1998, a smart guy by the name Goleman made some claims about Emotional Intelligence that helped people understand why Mike will be more successful than Robert. He said that emotional intelligence is the capacity to recognize one’s own feelings, and those of others, for motivating oneself, and for managing his or her emotions and relationships.

The National US Department of Labor carried out a survey that showed that corporations are increasingly listing emotional intelligence as a primary criterion in the hiring process. More companies world over are paying closer attention to emotional intelligence as a way of boosting profits. Many companies spend time and money training employees on how to be more emotionally intelligent in order to boost productivity.

IQ is no longer the only determinant for success in life or in the workplace. Goleman and others have made people dig deeper in all issues emotional, and their relationship with success. The good thing about emotional intelligence is that it is not fixed at birth. Parents, individuals and Robert can plant the right seeds to grow their emotional intelligence.

Self Awareness

The first step of improving your emotional intelligence is by understanding yourself and how you currently deal with emotions. You need to be self aware, recognize patterns and feelings in your life. You need to understand how emotions influence who you are, how you react, and how you relate to other people.

Emotions are the gateway to souls. Emotions such as fear, optimism, love, happiness and pride affect our performance and output in life. The purpose of this blog is to inspire you to be the best you can be. Being aware of your emotions and how they affect you and others is a verified first step and determinant for success.

You can begin understanding your emotional state by taking note of your feelings, their causes and your reactions. Then develop the ability to detect emotions in faces, pictures, voices of others. Understanding your emotions and those of others is a basic aspect of emotional intelligence.

Harnessing Emotions

The second way of boosting your emotional intelligence is by harnessing your emotions to think about and act to meet your objectives. From our example above, Mike is more emotionally intelligent than Robert.  Mike capitalizes on his changing moods and feelings to get ahead in life. Robert reacts to situation without being aware of his influencing emotions. He does not see them coming, and neither does he plan around his changing moods. Note that they both experience the same emotions, but Mike chooses to manage his emotions better. Robert may allow fear to paralyze him, but Mike sees fear as a sign to change, improve or secure his position, and take positive actions.

Mike understands that emotions are not static, they evolve over time. He understands his emotions and those of his colleagues and employer at work. He is able to plan his meetings and interaction to take advantage of his emotional state and those of others. He is a master of reading tone variation and facial expressions of others. His emotional intelligence serves him well at work and in life.

Emotional Intelligence Tests

There are many emotional intelligence tests that you can take online such as this one. Emotional Intelligence tests (EI-Q tests) helps in revealing things about how one handles emotions. If Mike and Robert did the same test, their answers would reveal their differences in the ability to deal with emotions.

The EI-Q tests would also help them understand their areas of strength in mood control, dealing with obstacles, and empathy. I highly recommend doing an emotional intelligence test for my blog readers. EI-Q tests help in evaluating various aspects of your emotional intelligence and may suggest ways of improving your weak areas.

You can also work with a mentor to help you improve your emotional intelligence. Many companies invest in emotional intelligence mentors to help employees boost their EI.

There are many emotional intelligence training companies many of them specializing in training leaders and managers. There are many emotional intelligence certification programs that provide training and mentoring for EI. Such certification and training helps in increasing personal and professional effectiveness.

Summary

Even if you do not have the budget for a mentor or formal emotional intelligence certification, the following tips will surely help you boost your EI-Q.

• Realize the importance of emotional intelligence in your life and career.
• Understand your current emotional state and feelings. Learn to detect how emotions originate and morph in your life.
• Understand the emotions of others and learn how to read the signs of the emotional feelings of others by listening to them, watching them and interpreting their words and actions.
• Harness emotions, both positive emotions and negative emotions to meet your desired goals.
• Develop empathy – Develop your ability to put yourself in the shoes of others, to understand how they feel, and react accordingly.
• Take an emotional intelligence test and improve on your weak areas.

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This is the last article in the emotional series. I hope you enjoyed this series and learned something new. I would love to hear you comments on emotional intelligence or about emotions in general and how they affect lives and success.

Stay tuned for the next series, coming to you soon.

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