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Can you raise your emotional IQ?
Most coaching interventions try to enhance some aspect of EQ, usually under the name of social, interpersonal, or soft skills training. The underlying reasoning is that, whereas IQ is very hard to change, EQ can increase with deliberate practice and training. IQ tests measure your ability to solve problems, use logic, and grasp or communicate complex ideas. EQ tests measure your ability to recognize emotion in yourself and others, and to use that awareness to guide your decisions. While high EQ skills may come more easily to naturally empathetic people, anyone can develop them. Less empathetic people just have to practice being more self-aware and conscious of how they interact with others. By utilizing these steps, you’ll be well on your way to an increase in your emotional intelligence level. Research suggests that people with average or below average E.Q. can do just as well as others by learning it. The only thing needed is the motivation to learn and the intention to apply it in real life. Emotional Intelligence can be gained and improved at any point in life (Goleman, 2014).
Can you improve emotional IQ?
Emotional intelligence is a set of skills and behaviors. While some people will be naturally more adept at certain aspects, EI can be learned, developed, and enhanced. Emotional intelligence is a fantastic gift. It makes you sensitive to the feelings of others, gives you the ability to harness emotions and allows you to use your own emotions for good. We’ve all interacted with someone who has a low emotional intelligence. The good news for those of you who may be struggling with emotional intelligence is that, from my own observations AND from the available evidence to back it up, the people who claim that it is inherited are wrong. Emotional intelligence can most definitely be learnt! People with low EQ often struggle to understand and control their emotions. They might lash out reactively without understanding what they are really feeling or why they are so upset. A person who lacks EQ might also have unexpected emotional outbursts that seem overblown and uncontrollable.
Are you born emotionally intelligent?
Emotional intelligence predicts people’s ability to regulate themselves, manage other people, and achieve success. Research shows a link between emotional intelligence and career success. Not everyone is born with it, but unlike IQ, emotional intelligence can be acquired and improved with practice. The first step in building emotional intelligence is to cultivate self-awareness: knowledge and understanding of your own emotional behavior. This is important, because we can easily start heading down an unhealthy path without even recognizing it. The cliche that intelligent people are emotionally immature may be more false than true because research does show that emotional intelligence is associated with academic achievement and academic achievement is an indication of intelligence. Low emotional intelligence could result from a medical condition like alexithymia or autism. It can also be a consequence of a mental health condition or addiction. Researchers found that certain cognitive abilities reach adult levels by the age of 16, while emotional maturity isn’t attained till after 22. The study appears in the October issue of American Psychologist, a journal of the American Psychological Association.