Do you know…
Every emotion has a specific message informing you about something worthy of your attention. Don’t shoot the messenger, heed the message!
The term emotional intelligence was popularized by Daniel Golman’s book with the same title, Emotional Intelligence. In his book, Golman explains that intellect is not enough and that to succeed in life we need to be more than book smart — we have to be emotionally smart too. According to Golman, emotional intelligence is the ability to understand your own emotions as well as the emotions of others, and respond to them appropriately.
The importance of emotional intelligence is in its power to stall or enhance your intellect. However, most people have difficulty identifying their emotions and are often uncomfortable experiencing them. We are often told that some emotions are good (or positive) and we’re allowed to have them, while other emotions are bad (or negative) and we’re not supposed to have them. Ironically, when we differentiate feelings as good or bad, positive or negative, we are critiquing them instead of benefiting from their intention. The purpose of emotions is not in how pleasant or unpleasant they are to experience but in the information they provide. In order to develop emotional intelligence we have to view emotions in a different way so that we can benefit from them fully.
The new approach to emotional intelligence focuses on recognizing emotions as data. Instead of focusing on emotions themselves, you will learn to pay attention to emotional information. Every emotion has a specific message informing you about something worthy of your attention.
The information you receive from emotions can help you:
- understand how you relate to a specific situation
- learn something about your self and others
- give you the opportunity to decide whether you want to change something
Emotions are neither good nor bad, just data. The new approach to emotional intelligence does not judge or classify emotions to primary and secondary, positive or negative, but sees them as personal information worthy of our attention. Like messengers, emotions deliver information you decide what to do with it. Stop shooting the messenger and start heeding its message. Whenever you ignore your emotions and feelings, you neglect their messages and miss an opportunity to choose the way you conduct your life.Understanding the messages of your emotions gives you the opportunity to adjust the old, or choose a new, attitude. Seize the opportunity…