Quipperian, have you ever felt happy and sad at the same time? Do you find it difficult to understand the emotions you are feeling inside? Have you wondered why you can suddenly be angry or sad without knowing how to control your emotions? These are why you need to know your emotions deeply and learn how to manage them more effectively. It is essential to recognize and manage your feelings because you will experience various events in your life that will affect your emotions and you must respond to them appropriately.
You need to recognize your own emotional intelligence to be better prepared in life. Emotional intelligence itself is not only the ability to express and control your own emotions, but also the ability to understand, interpret and respond to the emotions of others. A study by Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist and author, shows that humans have important emotional intelligence, which is composed of five basic abilities, namely:
- the ability to recognize your emotions;
- the ability to manage your emotions;
- the ability to motivate yourself;
- the ability to understand the emotions of others; and
- the skills to interact with others.
This is one of the reasons why you may have difficulty in understanding and getting along with other people when you do not even understand your own self and emotions.
Emotional intelligence is crucial for good interpersonal communication. When you understand how to know and control emotions, you will be able to socialize with your peers in a better way too. Other than that, you can practice emotional intelligence through a lot of ways in your life, including by being able to accept criticism and having empathy for other people. There are basically four levels of emotional intelligence that you may have. These are the explanations on each of them and how you can further improve yourself as you find yourself at a certain level of emotional intelligence.
1. Excellent Emotional Intelligence
The highest level is excellent emotional intelligence. People at this level can easily recognize and control the feelings within themselves. If you have an excellent emotional intelligence, your emotions cannot be easily influenced by your surrounding environments and you can easily improve your mood when unpleasant things happen to you. You do not find it hard to predict the emotions of others and you can easily influence others. Thus, you can get along with a wide variety of people who, in turn, will also like to spend time with you.
To be able to maintain your excellent emotional intelligence, you can use some of your time to work on your hobbies, which are considered as the best activities to neutralize negative emotions. You need to identify which hobbies you like and make a regular schedule to do them. Furthermore, you have to set a goal in your life. Goals are a great source of energy. The clearer the goal you want to achieve, the greater the motivation that arises. That is why it is important that you develop your own personal goals and plans. Moreover, you can participate in social service activities and engage in productive activities with your peers.
2. High Emotional Intelligence
One tier below the excellent level, you will find high emotional intelligence. If you think you possess this level of intelligence, you will be able to recognize your feelings and know what things can affect your mood. Therefore, you can control your emotions so that they will not intrude on your daily activities. You are a sensitive, responsible person who can easily lend a hand and position yourself quite well in social situations.
In order to maintain your emotions, you may want to write journals about the events that you experience and how you react to them. This information will be important for your own reflection so that you can better recognize your emotional states. You need to be more assertive when communicating and make a habit of discipline. Participating in organized activities may also help you in getting to know and understand other people.
3. Average Emotional Intelligence
After that, there is the level of average emotional intelligence. Generally, you are capable of recognizing and managing the feelings within to the point that they do not actually harm you. However, sometimes, you are still carried away by your emotions and this can make you less productive in completing your tasks. It may also cause you to be hesitant in making decisions and taking actions. You get along with most people, but you still need to sort out your social situations so that they will not affect your emotions negatively.
You need to improve your average emotional intelligence by paying closer attention to each of your emotions so that you can better manage them. Take notes of your experiences by writing down what works for you. For example, find out and write about what you can do to stay focused and hopeful in spite of disappointments and failures.. Rewarding yourself when you have successfully completed your tasks may also be helpful, as well as taking some time to practice empathy by understanding problems from others’ points of view.
4. Low Emotional Intelligence
The last level is low emotional intelligence. People who have low emotional intelligence have difficulties in recognizing their own feelings, both regarding the cause of those emotions and how to control them. Therefore, their actions are often influenced by their environment and unstable mood, making them prone to being unproductive. They also find it difficult to be in a relationship with other people because they are often confused as to how to adapt their actions with people with various characteristics.
If you think you have a low emotional intelligence, you have to improve yourself and be more sensitive to yourself and others by asking for feedback and input from your significant others, such as your friends and family. Moreover, since emotions are closely related to breathing, you can start learning to control your emotions by first doing breathing exercises. You also must focus on your personal goals and be kind to others by being a good listener.
So, which one do you think is your own level of emotional intelligence? You must find out by taking the emotional intelligence test by Quipper Campus! Get to know your emotional intelligence and be a better person, for the sake of yourself and to others. Be kind and stay well, Quipperian!