Emotional Intelligence is a powerful tool to understand feelings and to manage behaviors and relationships. It is a learned skill that takes time to master and has four major components:
- Self-awareness is the ability to know yourself as you really are. This is more than having a basic understanding of your preferences and desires. It means being conscious of your thoughts and feelings, including your negative ones, which are often easy to disregard. We can’t properly manage ourselves or our relationships without first understanding ourselves. Feelings are not exclusively good or bad. They are more like clues that help bring ideas to our attention.
- Self-management uses your awareness of emotions to actively choose your behaviors so you can recognize and manage emotions. It is different from self-control. It is more than keeping your feelings in check. When you choose how to respond to your emotions, you give yourself the power to take control of situations.
- Social Awareness helps identify and understand the moods of others. It requires looking outward and carefully observing behavior. It helps you tune into people’s emotions, understand them and navigate social situations. Without Social Awareness you can’t accurately assess and respond to others. This causes miscommunication and conflict.
- Relationship Management is the culmination of the skillful practice of Self-Awareness, Self-Management, and Social Awareness. When you are equipped with these tools, you can manage your relationships easily and effectively!!