What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand and manage one's own emotions, as well as understand and influence other people's emotions. Emotional Intelligence (or EQ for short) is considered an important set of skills to have to be relevant in the modern society, as they affect how you can present yourself and partcipate in the community you are a part of, be it your family, workplace, or the wider community based on other attributes.

The Intelligence Quotient (or IQ) is considered to be mostly an inherited attribute of a person, that can be improved upon depending on the environment the person grows up in and other factors. In contrast, EQ is a skillset that can be trained, even if you start from zero. You can do so via three general steps:

• The practice of mindfulness: helps with better awareness of oneself and the world around them. It is usually associated with meditations and involves paying attention to your thoughts, emotions, bodily feelings and the surrounding environment with opennenss and acceptance. Practicing mindfulness tends to lead to less anxiety and stress, as well as better focus, concentration and emotional well-being.
• Self-knowledge and self-mastery: this one is more or less self-explanatory. Knowing your won strengths and weaknesses allows you to make informed decisions and set meaningful goals for yourself, while the ability to manage your emotions, impulses and behaviors helps with overcoming obstacles along the way and maintaining a sense of balance. Both of these are important for personal growth and success in life, regardless of the area in question.
• Building mental habits: ake the above and incorporate it into your daily routine. Mindfulness and self-reflection is useful learning to manage one's reactivity, positive thinking and goal setting helps with setting realistic goals and overcoming obstacles to reaching them. All of it and more over time helps with building a well-rounded baanced approach to life.

The key point here is consistency. Start small and build up habits that enrichen your life and well-being. At least, that is the idea.