One of the strongest indicators of business success is emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence the ability to recognize and handle your own emotions, it is also the ability to detect people’s emotions. In Johnson & Johnson ‘s study, they found out that those with higher emotional intelligence were often the highest performers in the workplace. Therefore, emotional intelligence is related to achievement.
Make yourself to observe your own feeling
Many of us lose touch with our emotions as we rush from one commitment to another, meet deadlines, and react to external pressures. We miss the crucial information our emotions have when we rush to finish things.
We obtain information about a particular situation, person or event whenever we react to something with emotions. The response we encounter may be largely related to the existing scenario, or we might be reminded with a painful, unprocessed memory.
We learn to trust our emotions as we pay attention to how we feel, and we become much more skilled at handling them. Try the following exercise if you feel out of practice: set a reminder for different times throughout the day. Take a few deep breaths when the timer goes off and recognise how you feel emotionally. Pay attention to where this emotion appears in your body as a physical feeling and how it feels. As you practice more about this, the more natural it will become.
As a person with high emotional intelligence, you not just need to practice your emotional awareness, you should be attentive to your behaviour too. You should be able to realize how you act when you encounter certain emotions and how your daily life is affected by your behaviour. Find out does your behaviour affect your interaction with others, your productivity, or your sense of well-being overall?
When we become more aware of how we respond to our emotions, it is easy to judge and start to attach labels to our actions. Try to avoid doing that straight now, as you will be more possible to be honest with yourself if you are not giving judgement to yourself at the same time.
Be accountable to your feelings and behaviour
Taking responsibility for your behaviour and feelings is probably the most difficult phase as well as the most useful one. Your emotions and behaviour are from yourself and you should be the one who is in charge of them, you can’t rely on anyone else for your emotions and behaviour.
You’re responsible to express your emotions when somebody says or does something that hurt you. They did not make you express your emotions in an extreme way, you should take control of your own behaviour.
Likewise, your feelings can give you crucial information about the other person’s experience, as well as your own needs and preferences, but your feelings are not the responsibility of another person.
This will have a significant influence on all aspects of your life until you begin to accept your responsibility for how you feel and also how you act when you need to face your emotions.
Respond to Conflict, Instead of Reacting
Between responding and reacting, there is a precise but important difference.
Reacting is defined an unconscious process in which we experience an emotional trigger and act in an unconscious manner which expresses or relieves that emotion (such as feeling frustrated at the person who has just interrupted you when you are focus with something).
Responding is a conscious process involving realizing how you feel, then making a decision on how you want to behave. For example, you feel frustrated, explaining to the person how you feel, why it’s not a good time to disturb you, and when the person should get back to you).
Emotional outbursts and feelings of anger are normal during tense situations. During stressful situations, an emotionally intelligent individual knows how to remain calm. They do not make impulsive choices that would give rise to even greater problems. They understand that the goal at the end is to resolve the conflict, and they make a conscious decision to concentrate on ensuring that their actions and words are aligned with that.
Therefore, individuals should practice responding, but not react to conflicts.
Practice to Empathize Others
Empathy is about understanding the reason why someone has a particular feeling or behaviour and being able to communicate that understanding to them. It applies to us and others and it will improve your emotional intelligence by practising this ability.
Individuals with high emotional intelligence know that empathy is a characteristic that shows the strength of emotion, not weakness. Empathy helps individuals relate to other human beings It encourages people with different opinions and situations for mutual respect and understanding.
Be A Sociable and Approachable Person
People who are with high emotional intelligence are usually approachable. They are smiling and delivering off a positive influence. They use suitable social skills based on their relationship with people around them. They can communicate clearly, either verbal or non-verbal, this has contribute to their good interpersonal skills.
While high emotional intelligence skills can be easier for naturally compassionate people, which can be developed by anyone. Less empathetic people simply need to start practising to be more self-conscious and aware as to how they connect with people and how they handle their relationship You would be able to increase your emotional intelligence level by using these steps.