Emotionally intelligent people have a number of habits and behaviors that contribute to their ability to manage their own emotions and understand the feelings of others. They are keenly attuned to their own feelings, capable of expressing emotions in an appropriate way, as well as empathetic and understanding of how others are feeling
Four Skills for Emotional Intelligence
Perceiving emotions: This is considered the most basic level of emotional intelligence
- Managing emotions: The ability to manage your emotions and the emotions of others
- Taking this quiz to determine how emotionally intelligent you are, the answer might surprise you
Expressiveness
Emotionally intelligent people know how to express their feelings appropriately
- An inappropriate expression of your feelings might be coming home and getting into an argument with your spouse or sending a nasty email to your boss. An appropriate response would be to release some tension by going for a jog or coming up with a plan to make the next day better.
How to Become More Emotionally Intelligent
Reflect on your level of self-awareness
- Being aware of how we think and feel, and how our actions affect others, is a great foundation for building emotional intelligence
- Mindfulness techniques can help you become more present with your thoughts and emotions
- Cognitive behavioral therapy is linked with improving emotional intelligence
Emotional Intelligence Tests
These tests determine a level of emotional intelligence based on your answers to various questions.
- The tests are usually multiple-choice and ask what your reactions would be in hypothetical situations
- There are more factors that go into determining your EQ than an online test could compute, but a test could get you thinking about which of your emotional skills are strongest and which areas you may wish to improve
Motivation
Emotionally intelligent people are motivated to achieve their goals
Self-Awareness
Psychologist Daniel Goleman identifies self-awareness as one of the key components of emotional intelligence
- Self-awareness involves the ability to recognize moods, emotions, and feelings
- Part of this involves being aware of how your emotions and moods influence others
Social Skills
Emotionally intelligent people tend to have strong social skills
Perceptiveness
Emotionally intelligent people are able to look at the situation and correctly identify the true source of their feelings.
- Identifying the exact source of your feelings can be particularly tricky when you are dealing with powerful emotions such as love and anger.
Empathy
This involves the ability to understand the emotions of other people
- In order to interact with other people in multiple life domains, such as at work or at school, you need to be able to know what they are feeling
- If a co-worker is upset, knowing what they’re feeling gives you a much better idea of how to respond
Self-Regulation
Self-regulation is central to emotional intelligence
