Increasing Your Emotional Intelligence: Choice
In December of 2021, a friend and I decided to go for a hike on the White Horse Trail in the UK. Three things happened that day to remind me of the awesome power of personal choice.
Increasing Your Emotional Intelligence: Solicit Feedback
What if I told you that I had a gift for you? Not some cookie cutter gift store gift, but one that I picked out just for you. One that I really put some thought into. Would you be excited to find out what it is? Would you trust that my intentions are positive? What if I told you that my gift for you was the gift of feedback?
Increasing Your Emotional Intelligence: More Self-Awareness
There are a few different models of Emotional Intelligence (EI) out there. When I show Goleman’s model (above) to groups or individuals that I work with, their attention is generally drawn towards the competencies associated with relationship management. Skills like ‘inspirational leadership’ and ‘mentorship’ just sound cool and are undoubtedly super useful to have when working in a team. However, attempts to utilize these skill sets will show up as hollow or disingenuous when they are not built upon a foundation of self and social awareness.
Increasing your Emotional Intelligence: Self-Awareness
The foundation of EI (and most approaches to personal growth) is knowing yourself. Socrates went as far as to say that "the unexamined life is not worth living." While I try my best not to gravitate toward extremes, I believe there is a nugget of wisdom here. Emotional Intelligence begins with understanding and managing our own emotions. Here is one step you can take build this skill: