What is emotional intelligence and why do you need it?

Emotional Intelligence (EQ or EI) is the ability of a person to recognize, understand and manage his own emotions and also of others. This means a person has to be aware of all his negative or positive emotions and also the emotions of others.

This is one of the key skills required to manage and improve your relationships. It is also proven that emotional intelligence does not depend on academic aptitude. EI need not be proportional to IQ. Many people may have very low IQ but may be very good at maintaining relations.

As per Mr. Daniel Goleman, the author of the Book “Emotional Intelligence”, the 4 skills required for building your Emotional Intelligence are −

1. Self-awareness
2. Self-management
3. Social awareness
4. Relationship management

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Why do we need Emotional Intelligence?

• The skills required for being successful in life are not dependent on how academically brilliant a person is. It is also true that always the smartest people are not the ones who are most fulfilled in life.

• Emotional intelligence can help you to cope up and navigate through the social complexities right from school to workplace.

• It helps you to understand and get the work done in difficult situations also.

• It is always the people with great emotional intelligence will be the leaders and pioneers in their field. At the workplace, they can lead and motivate others and extract great work from subordinates.

• They can gauge the right candidates for the right work and thereby achieve success.

• Emotional Intelligence also affects your physical well-being. It has been proven by many studies that our physical health depends entirely on our emotions and stress. If you are not emotionally balanced you are prone to High blood pressure, Diabetes, Heart problems, Infertility and what not.

• Your mental health depends entirely on your emotional intelligence. If you are not emotionally intelligent, you are very much vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

In total, Emotional Intelligence is the key to maintaining all your relationships harmoniously. It is understood that if you feel and maintain your relationships well, only then you can lead a successful and fulfilling life.

It entirely depends on how emotionally intelligent are you, to lead a successful and fulfilling life both in terms of the personal and professional arena.