Top Strategies for Developing Emotional Intelligence

As each day passes on our planet, we relate, interact, meet, and socialize with different people. These people can range from our families and friends to co-workers and bosses. The relationship we have with this set of people is what gives meaning to the life we are living.

We all know that no one in this life can survive on his/her own. Even if you do, you will later realize the importance of having a partner or a friend to support or look out for you in everything you do.

Even though everything might look rosy on the outside, many people are experiencing different challenges and difficulties in their relationships today. Most of these difficulties were caused by a lack of understanding of the emotions of either party.

This is the reason why it is vital to have emotional intelligence. With emotional intelligence in the picture, we will be able to understand our feelings and the emotions of those around us.

Table of Contents

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Being able to understand, recognize, and manage our emotions while influencing the feelings of those around us is called emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is not a virtue that can be easily found in anyone.

It is an ability that can only be developed over time through conscious effort. It can be divided into five major parts: self-awareness, self-control, motivation, empathy, and social skills.We will explore these five segments briefly.

Self Awareness

The extent to which you understand your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors is known as self-awareness.

You will have to make some critical decisions at one point or another in your life. Being self-aware and understanding yourself can help you make the right choices.
Additionally, in relationships, self-awareness will help you understand what makes you happy or sad and why.

Over time, you will come to appreciate yourself and be able to explain the kinds of emotions you have to others respectfully. This can help to prevent long-term conflicts between you and your colleagues if one arises.

Self-Control

Self-control is very imperative. This is because it helps you manage your emotions so they won’t influence your actions. Everyone gets angry occasionally; however, with self-control, you can pause momentarily and rethink before reacting to anything.

This will help you not to act on impulse, and it will help you to have a straightforward approach to every action you take.

Empathy

Understanding what someone is feeling or what a particular person is going through shows that you have empathy. It can also be called the act of putting yourself in the position of another person so you can have a glimpse, or a complete picture, of what they are experiencing.

Empathy is one of the essential divisions of emotional intelligence, as it is the key to building a relationship that will last in the long run.

Motivation

Sometimes, human beings experience challenges and difficulties in their relationships with other people. However, what really keeps them going without giving up?

The answer is motivation. The drive propels an individual to not give up even if he/she is experiencing challenges in his/her relationship.
With motivation in the picture, an individual will always look on the bright side, focusing only on positivity, while showing love and care to the other people in their relationship.

Social Skills

In building long-lasting relationships, some skill sets are required. These skills are known as social skills. Some of them include listening skills, communication skills, problem-solving skills, etc.

People with good social skills are very good at maintaining relationships with others. They know how to communicate, speak their minds, and also listen to the opinions and contributions of others.