Emotional Intelligence
Have you ever questioned why at times negative thoughts flood your mind and how could you possibly turn such thoughts into positive ones ? Have you ever noticed the impact of how you think on what your decision or choice is when faced with an important dilemma ?
There are many questions but the fact is that our thoughts govern what we do and our responses to life , and in such occasions emotional intelligence may be indeed a plus .
Traditionally , people understood intelligence as the cognitive or mental capacity of a person , and the means employed to measure it is the well known IQ ( intelligence quotient ) test . In 1983 however , in his book “Fames of Mind” , developmental psychologist Howard Gardner proposed the theory of multiple intelligencies . Thus , instead of defining intelligence as a single logical ability , we should rather see it as a set of several clusters of skills – to date , in number of nine .
The list includes :
• Naturalist intelligence ( “nature smart” )
• Musical intelligence ( “musical smart “ )
• Logical-mathematical intelligence ( “number /reasoning smart” )
• Interpersonal intelligence ( “people smart” )
• Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence ( “body smart” )
• Linguistic intelligence ( “word smart” )
• Intrapersonal intelligence ( “self smart” )
• Spatial intelligence ( “picture smart” )
• Existential intelligence ( “morality smart” )
With the international launch of the book “Emotional Intelligence” in 1995 , psychologist and science journalist Daniel Goleman popularized this kind of intelligence , normally defined as the sentimental capacity of the mind , or the ability to identify , assess and control emotions .
Thus , according to Goleman , emotional intelligence has the following aspects :
1. Knowing our emotions
2. Managing our emotions
3. Recognizing emotions in others
4. Managing relationships with others
5. Motivating ourselves to achieve our goals
All these aspects are important because we always need to decipher and manage emotions
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Emotional intelligence ( EQ or EI ) is not merely related to decision making , and currently it starts becoming maybe even more important than the IQ . Studies showed that , while the job a person gets after graduating might reflect the actual IQ , how far he/she advances in that job bears little relationship to it and sometimes not even related to that person’s grades in school . Rather , that person’s success is related to the EQ . Our success and happiness in life are more closely associated with EQ than with any other form of intelligence .
Emotional intelligence begins to develop in the earliest years as all the small exchanges children have with their parents , teachers and with each other carry emotional messages . How important is then to start molding it as earliest possible .
A variety of scientific studies have shown that increasing a person’s EQ will prevent or treat depression , phobias , obsessive-compulsive disorder , post-traumatic stress disorder , anorexia , bulimia and various addictions . Enhancing EQ is even more important in individuals who don’t have any addiction or a specific disease , as it promotes a happier life , the individuals getting to think more clearly and communicate more effectively .
Over the past decade , researchers had done extensive studies on the factors that influence EQ and found that genetic makeup , childhood experiences and current level of emotional support all play an important role .
It was shown as well that a plant-based diet is associated with healthier mood states in both men and women , and switching to a vegetarian diet will reduce the levels of stress , anxiety and depression , apparently because the plant foods don’t contain arachidonic acid known as an inflammatory fat present largely in meat and fish .
The activities we are doing as well have a very big impact on our IQ and EQ . The more entertainment television watched , the lower the creativity and one’s grades , resulting in addition and a lack of emotional control – that might lead even to the increase of violent and sexual crimes . Entertainment Internet , videos and video games are shown to have adverse effects .
The most important influence on EQ however is what we believe . Our beliefs – meaning , our evaluations of the events , the way we think about problems , our silent self-talk – in a large measure shape our emotions . Thus , our beliefs have much more to do with how we feel than what is actually happening in our lives .
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