Emotional Literacy
Bridging the gap between words and feelings.
Our society is demonstrating a dangerous paradox – our children are getting smarter, their IQ ever increasing while their emotional intelligence is on the decline. Each new generation of children seems to be more troubled then the last. On average, children are growing more lonely and depressed, more angry and aggressive, more anxious and impulsive. This change in social aptitude is present in all economic groups and prevalent among young people worldwide. The most telling signs of the lack of emotional literacy among children are seen in rising number of those demonstrating problems such as depression, drug abuse, bullying, eating disorders, unwanted pregnancies and dropping out of school.In order to help children make healthy choices and maximize their full potential, we need to invest in emotional literacy, an education focused on the purpose and meaning of emotions. Oftentimes we keep scores on emotional matters but we are unaware of them. We all intuitively keep emotional score with people who offended us or do not show us the level of respect we deserve, but have you ever thought about how you keep this internal score? How do you know the amount of respect you deserve? How do you measure the apology received as being “enough”? Imagine if you could do your emotional math intentionally, and take time to clear and balance your emotional accounts? Wouldn’t you feel free and empowered? To be emotionally literate means to:
- be mindful of how you feel in a given situation
- know your emotions and their meaning
- know how your thoughts and feelings affect your actions
- recognize how your feelings affect others and vice versa
- use emotions to communicate truthfully and effectively
Being emotionally literate is similar to writing with awareness. Usually, when you write, you search for the exact word to communicate your message. You write and revise your text until you “hit” the right word making sure it depicts your intention with clarity. Now, imagine how richer and more effortless your life would be if you could use emotions, like words, to express and communicate with ease and clarity!