Emotional Intelligence

How intelligent is your emotion?

There is so much talk about emotions; we know we have it when we display emotional behaviors (actions based on feelings). The importance of emotions in influencing our actions, controlling our attitudes, and shaping behavior is often minimized. It is startling to discover that there is an intelligence associated with emotions and if well managed, can greatly transform behavior and improve outcomes.
Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to have the expected awareness of personal emotion and the ability to adapt, modify, and control emotion in a way to influence behavior and achieve the best performance( Bradberry & Greaves, 2009). Every human being has the tendency to protect self and hurt others. In the process of self protection and indulgence, we hurt others, ourselves, destroy relationships, and turn friends to enemies with our outlook and attitudes. Emotional intelligence is a trait that is necessary to successfully process emotional information, interact, and navigate the social world successfully. It is essential for academic success, career advancement, and effective job performance (Nauert, 2013).
Emotional intelligence domains are divided into personal competence, which includes self-awareness and self-management. Self-awareness is centered on one’s personality and ability to be aware of one’s emotions, strengths, and weaknesses and managing it to achieve acceptable behavior. Social competence includes social awareness and relationship management. Social competence entails the ability to understand the mood and feelings of others and be able to relate and sustain relationships (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009). If you are having challenges maintaining and sustaining relationships, the answer may very well not be etched in the obvious. Look inwardly; how intelligent are you emotionally? Pause and ponder.

References
Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional Intelligence 2.0. San Diego, CA: TalentSmart Inc.
Nauert, R. (2013). Importance of Emotional Intelligence Validated. Psych Central. Retrieved on January 16, 2015 from http:psychcentral.com/importance of emotional intelligence