Emotional Intelligence
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence, also referred to as ‘EQ’, is the ability to identify, evaluate, and control your own emotions and to better understand and manage the emotions (or motivations) of others.
The term “emotional intelligence” has been around since the 1980s and came to popular prominence through Daniel Goleman who wrote a best-selling book titled Emotional Intelligence. The term itself is subject to disagreement as to what defines it precisely but being such a broad topic, it is possible to discern the main components of EQ so that you can draw on these aspects when seeking to improve both your understanding and your personal implementation of EQ.
You will benefit in many ways from having a high level of emotional intelligence and indeed some people consider high EQ to be more important than having intellectual abilities, although in recent times there has been more emphasis on achieving balance rather than assuming all you need is EQ. Luckily, for those of us who may be currently lacking EQ or for those of us who simply wish to increase their EQ abilities, there are numerous ways to strengthen such intelligence.
Having a high IQ does not ensure a high EQ. Having both in balance is worth striving for but don’t be held back by a seemingly lower IQ; plenty of people with high IQs are lonely, adrift and unconnected because they rely too heavily on their genius to float through life, rather than coming down to Earth and connecting with others. While that may be a place of incredible insight on occasion, it can also be a very lonely and self-unaware place too. EQ is about being open, ready to connect and accepting that there is always more to learn even if one is a genius.
What are the symptoms of low emotional intelligence?
- Behaving in a negative way toward someone, their ideas or communication
- Having a difficult time interpreting, understanding, and acting on emotions
- Having difficulties expressing their own emotions and feel uncomfortable around the emotional displays of other people
- Low self-esteem
- Poor self-confidence
- Having difficulty feeling empathy and showing love for others
- Marital conflict and fighting
Mississauga therapy or counselling can help you learn more about the signs and symptoms of low emotional intelligence, and learn effective day-to-day tools and techniques to allow you to embrace life with high emotional intelligence.
Our trained therapists integrate Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with mindfulness techniques to show you how to improve your emotional intelligence. As a part of this invaluable skill, we help you to recognize stress triggers and how to deal with them. We help you to learn effective communication skills and be optimistic.
Listen to host Ashley Kreze interview Fataneh Naghavi and Paul Prochilo express their thoughts and ideas around emotional intelligence and leadership development.