How To Improve Your Emotional Intelligence
If emotional intelligence were a house, emotional self awareness would be the basement. Our belongings and our emotions spend much of the time sealed up and out of sight. Hence, it is only when we have a need that we use the box cutter and go find our valuables. The same could be said of your emotions. Unfortunately, in a culture that teaches emotions are fleeting or untrustworthy, many are taught to discount their feelings. Consequently, there is much that needs to be learned and unlearned about emotional awareness.
Develop Emotional Self Awareness
Emotional self awareness is the first step in understanding oneself. If you aren’t aware of what you are feeling, why you are feeling it and how those feelings are affecting others you cannot grow. Therefore, understanding your feelings and why you are feeling is the first step in mastering self awareness. There are two components at work here:
- Knowing what you are feeling
- Knowing what to do with the emotion
Define The Emotion
- Fear
- Anger
- Sadness
- Joy
- Disgust
- Surprise
- Trust
- Anticipation
Self Awareness Activities
Without being able to recognize your feelings, you can’t control them. This inevitably effects your disposition—and output—at work. MORE
Feeling emotion is inevitable. Additionally, abundant life includes both positive and the negative emotions. Emotional awareness competency begins with processing the information before you.
- What is the stimuli? In other words, what is causing me to feel this feeling?
- What is occurring in my body?
- Why is this affecting me?
- What is the feeling?
- What do I do with this information?
Positive Self Talk
Everyone has a voice in their head that doesn’t want to help. Furthermore, in the absence of awareness of one’s thoughts the default voice takes control. This voice had a job once. It’s job was to protect you from harm. This voice also keeps us from growth. The voice calls us to risk less. It demands safety. Accept the status quo. Growth demands we get in touch with what we are feeling, why we are feeling it and how our associated actions are affecting others. To learn more about emotional intelligence.
