Emotional intelligence - What is it, types and phrases

In recent years, many professionals have collaborated in seeking a logical explanation for everything that happens to us; such as emotions, which have a reason why they are expressed and the answer was called "Emotional intelligence", a term that, although it was used several years ago, became popular in 1995 thanks to the publication of the book of Daniel Goleman, which had the same name as its title.

Due to the popularity that this particular topic has gained in a time full of entrepreneurs and people with an interest to improve and develop as individuals, we decided to contribute our grain of sand with a sufficiently complete entry. We hope you enjoy reading.

What is emotional intelligence?

The meaning of this term is hypothetical, since there are several investigations and theories about it. However, it could be defined as the Cognitive ability that people have to recognize, understand and manage their emotions; in the same way that it is also possible for him to recognize, understand and influence those of others.

Emotional intelligence (EI) was born due to the need to be able to cognitively evaluate an individual in a more complete way, since intelligence meters (I.Q) did not assess how an individual understood and appreciated their own emotions or feelings or those of other people. Something that Howard Gardner mentioned with his publication of "Multiple intelligences: the theory in practice", a book that was released in 1983.

It was not until 1985 that the term gained a little more visibility with Wayne Payne's thesis; although in 1964 and 1966 the Emotional Intelligence had already been appointed by Beldoch and Leuner. However, in 1995 was when the term really became popular with Daniel Goleman's book, which we mentioned at the beginning of the entry; since this one had great repercussion.

According to Daniel Goleman himself, it is necessary to understand how the brain works in order to determine the power that emotions have over our thoughts. An explanation that we can find in his work:

Types according to Daniel Goleman

Emotional intelligence can be divided into five elements, which are described by Daniel Goleman as the self-awareness, emotional self-control, self-motivation, empathy, and social skills.

These items can vary greatly depending on the individual personality And even because of their gender, for example, in most cases men are more self-aware; while women feel more empathy.

Be self-aware

It is the ability of a person to recognize what feelings and emotions they have, as well as understand how they influence their thoughts or in general. In other words, it is knowing yourself, being aware of both your strengths (qualities or abilities) and your weaknesses.

Control of your own emotions

Known as self-regulation or emotional self-control, It is the element that is responsible for controlling and reflecting on our emotions or feelings, with the aim that they cannot have control of thoughts and actions.

Basically, it is the ability we have to understand why we feel those emotions and learn to control them in the necessary moments, since normally when they are ephemeral we end up regretting saying or doing something that we would not have wanted if it were not because the emotions influenced our behavior and thought.

Self motivation

It consists of knowing how to focus emotions in a beneficial direction, that is, setting a goal or objective and knowing how to direct attention to them; so that we can motivate ourselves.

You could say that it is the constant and logical "optimism" (although sometimes it fights against the current), together with the power of the "initiative" that makes us move forward in a positive way to grow in the different aspects of our life.

Empathy

It is the one that allows recognize emotions and other people's feelings, which are usually transmitted unconsciously. It can also be called "interpersonal intelligence", which was one of the aspects that Howard Gardner mentioned that he could not measure intelligence indicators such as I.Q.

An individual who is capable of recognizing, understanding and influencing the emotions of other people, has greater facility to establish links with it; Furthermore, empathic individuals are those who possess greater capacities of the emotional intelligence.

Social skills

All the relationships They are a fundamental and essential factor for the correct development of a person; since these have a significant influence on happiness, productivity and personal growth.

This factor makes indirect mention of empathy, which is necessary to establish these relationships; in the same way that it is a necessary aspect to improve our IE for the reasons explained previously.

Discover your skills with a test

Like the IQ, there are several emotional intelligence tests that we can find throughout the web. Despite this, the most advisable thing is to go to a specialist who can carry out a more personal and non-generalist evaluation such as the tests that you will find on the internet.

Although if you have doubts, these tests can give you some idea of what is your IE level, so it may be advisable to do so. Of course, because the tests are multiple-choice, you have to be as honest as possible and try to really analyze what your reaction would be for certain cases; Only in this way will you achieve a more accurate result.

Emotional intelligence in children, companies and social networks

Due to the popularity achieved, there are many investigations carried out on the subject in different areas. Among them, the most prominent are the control of the emotions possessed by children, employees and users of social networks.

1 Children

Children need to be emotionally educated so that they can develop the elements of the aforementioned elements and in that way, be able to have control of their emotions and understand those of others for interpersonal relationships, which, as we have seen, are of great importance.

However, the emotional intelligence in children it is usually learned in practice, that is, with its development in real life. Thus, these teachings can be supported with the help of the family, so we recommend the following:

• Teach them to control anger and to be aware that there are reactions to avoid.
• Show him what are the most common emotions and how to recognize them in other people, so that they can develop empathy.
• Teach him to name the emotions they feel in certain situations.
• Show him techniques that allow them to express themselves and deal with emotions or feelings.
• Encourage communication so that they feel comfortable expressing themselves, giving their opinions or whatever else they feel or think.

2. Companies

EI studies and research related to the business area have yielded results of great interest, since the workers with emotional intelligence are much more productive and happy. According to the data collected, those workers who are able to control their emotions and recognize what their customers are, have a greater ability to sell products and services.

This has resulted in employees with EI being much more in demand by companies, since they need individuals capable of facing difficult situations with determination and positivism. Therefore, companies have begun to test this type of intelligence when selecting who will be part of the work team.

3. Social networks

Social networks are another means of communication, so this can be of some importance in some aspects. However, not much research has been done on this, so we will only limit ourselves to commenting on a few features.

• People on social networks tend to be more empathetic, since those publications that show difficult or complicated situations tend to have more diffusion. Likewise, people who share in your success also tend to have more acceptance.
• For companies, the benefits of EI are more than noticeable when managing social networks. Since it allows them to listen more to their customers, accept criticism, be positive and realistic depending on the situation, improve the needs of the target audience, among others.

Emotional intelligence phrases

Finally, something quite sought after and that in Recursosdeautoayuda we are always ready to collect, are the phrases (You have to visit our category!). So we hope you enjoy them.

• If you want to be happy, you must resign yourself to seeing others happy. - Bertrand Russell
• The problem is, if you don't live life for yourself, other people will. - Peter Shaffer
• The will is the intention favored by the emotions. - Raheel Farooq
• If you are reading this ... Congratulations, you are alive. If that's not something to smile about, then I don't know what is. - Chad Sugg
• The best index of a person's character is the way he treats people who cannot do him any good, and the way he treats people who cannot defend himself. - Abigail Van Buren
• An intelligent person can rationalize anything, a wise person does not even try. —Jen Knox
• In a very real sense, we all have two minds, a thinking mind and a feeling mind. - Daniel Goleman
• That's what happens with lessons, you always learn from them, even when you don't want to. - Cecelia Ahern
• Thinking about something does not mean that it is true. Wanting something doesn't mean it's real. - Michelle Hodkin
• Every emotion has its place, but it should not interfere with proper action. - Susan Oakey-Baker

• It is amazing how once the mind is free from emotional contamination, logic and clarity emerge. - Clyde DeSouza
• True compassion not only means feeling the pain of the other, but also acting to alleviate it. - Daniel Goleman
• We forget very easily what causes us pain. - Graham Green.
• Western businessmen often do not realize the importance of building human relationships. - Daniel Goleman
• Every act of conscious learning requires a willingness to injure one's self-esteem. That is why young children learn so quickly before they are aware of their own importance. Thomas Szasz.
• Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. - Aristotle
• I don't care what you say to me. I care what you share with me. - Santosh Kalwar
• The emotional brain responds to an event more quickly than the rational brain. - Daniel Goleman
• Shift your attention and you change your emotions. Change your emotion and your attention will change places. - Frederick Dodson

• Our ability to adapt is incredible. Our ability to change is spectacular. - Liza Lutz.
• It is not stress that causes us to fall, it is how we respond to stressful situations. - Wayde Goodall
• The only way to change someone's mind is to connect with it through the heart. - Rasheed Ogunlaru
• Courage is the most important of all virtues, because without value, no other consistent virtue can be practiced. - Maya Angelou
• If you fight against yourself to discover your true self, you will discover that there is only one winner. - Stephen Richards
• Walk like the lion, talk like doves, live like elephants, and love like a little child. - Santosh Kalwar
• One way to increase our willpower is to know how to manage our distractions instead of letting them control us. - Daniel Goleman
• Don't be afraid of your fears. They are not there to scare you. They are there to let you know that something is worthwhile. - C. JoyBell C.

Unfortunately this is the entry point, but calm down, later we will continue to delve into this interesting topic. We hope you enjoy the content provided and as we always say, if you want to contribute or have any questions, do not forget that below is the comment box. Ah, we also invite you to share the article on your networks, as you will help people learn about this type of intelligence