Wikipedia describes emotional intelligence (EI) as the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. Today it is thought to be an essential component to both personal and professional success—even more important than typical intelligence such as IQ.
Traits of Emotionally Intelligent People
People who have high emotional intelligence:
* Are positively focused
* Choose to be with positive people
* Set healthy boundaries
* Can be assertive as needed
* Do not focus on the past
* Know how to enjoy life
* Tend to be interested and interesting
* Describe themselves as happy
* Demonstrate a high degree of empathy
* Know when to say yes or no
Emotional intelligence is an important thing to learn if you lack in this area. Thankfully, unlike IQ, you can raise your EI easily with practice and focus. If you want more information, you can take a free EI test here and find training programs too:
Link – http://www.ihhp.com/free-eq-quiz/
Books about Emotional Intelligence
You can also read some books about emotional intelligence. Start with this list:
* Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child, by John Gottman, PhD and Daniel Goleman
(http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Emotionally-Intelligent-Child-Gottman-ebook/dp/B005HF2VI2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414351197&sr=8-1&keywords=Raising+an+Emotionally+Intelligent+Child%2C+by+John+Gottman.)
* Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition, by Daniel Goleman
(http://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Intelligence-Daniel-Goleman-ebook/dp/B000JMKVCG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414355821&sr=8-1&keywords=emotional+intelligence)
* Emotional Intelligence: Quick Guide to Develop Your Emotional Intelligence and Start Applying It Today, by William Wyatt
(http://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Intelligence-Communication-Interpersonal-Leadership-ebook/dp/B00EYV265S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1414355884&sr=8-3&keywords=emotional+intelligence)
* Emotional Intelligence For Children: The Busy Parent’s 30-Minute Blueprint To Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child, by Alex Greer
(http://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Intelligence-Children-Emotionally-Intelligent-ebook/dp/B00J5ZQWFI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414356019&sr=8-2&keywords=emotional+intelligence%2C+children)
All these books can help you not only raise your own emotional intelligence but also help you coach your children to naturally have a higher EI as they get older. After all, it’s a key skill to have to be successful in life—both interpersonally and professionally.
Websites about Emotional Intelligence
* SixSeconds: This is a great resource to help you build your emotional intelligence. The site is focused on positive change and making the world a better place if people have higher emotional intelligence, which they call the emotional intelligence quotient, or EQ.
Link – http://www.6seconds.org/
* The Emotional Intelligence Consortium This is an excellent website that offers reports, references, books, and even a membership for people and organizations who are interested in the idea of emotional intelligence.
Link – http://www.eiconsortium.org/
* MindTools This website has many different intellectual tools available, some of which are devoted to developing emotional intelligence. This is focused on business and team building through improving emotional intelligence.
Link – http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/team-emotional-intelligence.htm
* Emotional Intelligence & MSCEIT – If you want academic information, tests, workshops, schools, and more related to emotional intelligence, this is a good place with reliable information.
Link – http://www.emotionaliq.org/index.htm
* Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence This is an excellent center with a program that seeks to improve the emotional intelligence of future generations through incorporating EI training into the community through schools and the community.
Link – http://ei.yale.edu/what-we-do/teaching-emotional-intelligence/
* Practical Emotional Intelligence A website by Chris Golis that offers practical help for people wanting to learn more about EI. He is a speaker and trainer in emotional intelligence for individuals, businesses, and teams and offers a lot of different training options and information regarding EI. He has a good list of resources and infographics about emotional intelligence.
Link – http://www.emotionalintelligencecourse.com/eq-resources
If you really want to improve your emotional intelligence level, you can. The information is available. All you have to do is reach out and grab it. It will change your life for the better.