Emotions help us learn new things, understand other people and push us to action.
Are emotions holding us back? Maybe it's better to be insensitive, logical thinking creatures?
Emotions are vital - they allow you to live a fulfilling life and learn from your experience.
Example. The brain not only accumulates facts, but also remembers feelings. Touching a hot stove will hurt. In the future, such an idea will revive the feeling of pain in the memory. So emotions will not allow you to make the same mistake.
Emotions help interpret other people's feelings and predict their actions.
Example. Imagine that you are standing face to face with an angry person. Body language (clenched fists or loud voice) tells you about his emotional state, and you can predict his next actions.
Emotions help to quickly respond to a situation.
Example. In the case of an angry person, emotions will make us feel threatened or angry, allowing us to react quickly to an attack.
People without emotion are incapable of acting.
Example. In centuries past, many mentally ill people have been treated with a "lobotomy" that separates two areas of the brain vital to emotional processes. As a result, patients lost initiative and drive for action, as well as most of their emotional potential.
Sometimes emotions get in the way of making a decision or cause you to act unreasonably
Although emotions are an important tool for interacting with the environment, they are imperfect and can lead to erroneous actions.
This happens when we are overly emotional. Our mind is capable of "juggling" many elements at the same time, but in a state of arousal it is overcome by disturbing thoughts and images. There is no room for rational thinking, and judgment becomes clouded.
Example. When you are scared, you react too emotionally to the situation (“fear has big eyes”) and you may even mistake the sheet on the clothesline for a ghost.
Under the influence of emotions, we rush to act instead of soberly assessing the situation. When information enters the brain, some of it enters the new cortex, which is responsible for rational thinking, and travels to the emotional brain. If the latter considers that the information is a threat, he can force us to act without thinking, without turning to the brain of thinking.
Example. You shudder if you see a strange figure out of the corner of your eye in a dark forest.
Outdated emotional responses can lead us to behave irrationally. The emotional mind reacts to the current situation based on experience, even if conditions have changed.
Example. A boy who is beaten by peers in school may grow up to be a strong man, but will still feel threatened by others.
Emotions are very important, but they can block rational thinking. To prevent this from happening, you need to learn how to effectively manage emotions.
Emotional intelligence allows you to manage emotions and use them to achieve goals
How can you harness the power of your emotions to eradicate their overwhelming influence?
Emotional intelligence will help you recognize and manage feelings without falling under their total control.
The first aspect of emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and name your feelings. This skill is vital. People who are unable to recognize their own feelings are more prone to bouts of rage. Understand your emotions, and you will immediately understand the reasons for their occurrence.
Often your feelings in a certain situation depend on your attitude towards it.
Example. If a friend walks by on the street without recognizing you, you will immediately think that he is doing it on purpose. This can upset or even anger you. But your friend might just not have noticed you.
When you can recognize and manage your feelings, emotional intelligence can help you focus on achieving certain goals.
Example. Let's say you need to write an article. You do not like the given topic and would rather go to the movies instead. Emotional intelligence can help manage these different feelings. You can try to look at the topic from a different perspective. Perhaps some aspect of it will interest you. And knowing what feelings going to the cinema will cause, you can put off this pleasure for a while, anticipating it.
Students who manage their workload tend to do well even if they have an average IQ.
Emotional intelligence helps you navigate the social world
The people around you play a big role in your life. Only by managing social interaction can one hope for a fulfilling, happy life. Emotional intelligence promotes the development of social interactions, allowing you to put yourself in the shoes of other people. You can understand the emotions of other people by analyzing non-verbal cues. To judge a person's mood, it is enough to pay attention to the clues (facial expression or body language). We usually detect these signals automatically.
Example. If a person turns pale and opens his mouth in amazement, it means that he is in shock.
Since emotional intelligence allows you to empathize with people, you will behave in ways that will elicit favorable reactions from others.
Example. Imagine that you are a manager and one of your team members makes the same mistakes all the time. You have to tell him about it and help him change, but do it right. If a person's feelings are hurt, they may become defensive and unlikely to do what you want them to. But by showing empathy and putting yourself in his place, you will definitely achieve your goal.
Emotionally intelligent people can develop social skills such as teaching others, resolving conflicts, or managing staff. And these abilities help maintain relationships in a social environment.
Emotional intelligence needs a balance between the emotional "feeling brain" and the rational "thinking brain"
Our thoughts and feelings are intertwined. The thinking brain (the stronghold of rational thought) and the feeling brain (the birthplace of our emotions) are inextricably linked through neural pathways. Emotional intelligence depends on the connectors between the brains for thinking and feeling, and any damage to these pathways can lead to a deficit in emotional intelligence.
Example. A person whose emotional brain is separated from the thinking one ceases to experience feelings and loses emotional self-awareness. Lobotomized patients exhibit this ailment: after the interruption of the connections between the two brains, they lose their emotional potential.
The thinking brain must correct the functioning of the feeling brain. It is a process of emotional self-regulation.
How does emotional self-regulation work?
Stimuli such as a sudden loud bang often overwhelm the emotional brain. The senses brain automatically perceives the stimulus as a threat and will put the body on alert. We use the thinking brain to regulate this process.
Hearing a loud bang, the emotional brain sends a signal to the body, the thinking brain checks the stimulus for a potential threat. In the absence of danger, it calms both the senses and the body, allowing us to think soberly again. Therefore, we are not too afraid of every sudden noise. If you break the connection between the two brains, such a process is impossible.
Example. Patients with severe brain damage thinking have difficulty controlling their feelings.
Emotional Intelligence Helps Be Healthy and Successful
What is the secret to a successful and fulfilling life? Many people think that people with a high IQ are more likely to have a happy life. Experience shows that people with developed emotional intelligence are often more successful.
Students with a high level of empathy are more successful than their less compassionate peers with a similar IQ. In general, students who are able to control their feelings get high marks.
Example. One Stanford University study looked at the ability of a group of four-year-olds to resist a treat. Years later, it turned out that those who controlled their impulses at the age of four did well in school and the social sphere. Success them accompanied in adulthood.
Emotional intelligence also helps to lead healthier lives.
Example. During periods of stress, the heart undergoes tremendous stress as blood pressure rises. Hence the risk of heart attack. Stress also weakens the immune system - there is a high chance of catching a cold when stressed. Emotional intelligence can help you avoid such dangers. By learning how to mitigate stressful feelings such as anxiety and anger, you can reduce their harmful effects. So, if people who have had a heart attack are taught to manage anger, then the risk of attacks in the future will significantly decrease.
The impact of emotional intelligence on success and health is enormous, but there is little emphasis on emotional skills in the school curriculum.
The face of society depends on the emotional intelligence of children.
Weak emotional intelligence can have negative consequences for the entire society.
Example. Threefold increase in teenage homicide 1965-1990 may be associated with a weakened emotional intelligence.
Deficiencies in emotional intelligence can lead to higher crime rates.
Example. Research shows that juvenile offenders find it difficult to control their feelings and “read” the expressions on other people's faces - just like sex addicts. And heroin addicts had difficulty managing anger even before their addiction began.
A child's well-being is also determined by emotional competence. Children growing up surrounded by emotionally intelligent people have a high level of EI. Children of emotionally intelligent parents find it easier to control their own emotions. They are practically not stressed, enjoy more peer disposition and are more socially adjusted, according to teachers. Children with deficits in self-awareness, empathy, or impulse control are at risk of mental health problems and are more likely to face difficulties in school.
Modern children are future parents, managers and politicians. Many of them will have a great impact on society and it is better for them to be caring, able to resolve conflicts and not be inclined to blindly follow the lead of feelings.
Ways to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence ensures a fulfilling life. How to level it up?
1. To increase the level of self-awareness and self-control, practice internal dialogues. This will help you recognize your own feelings.
Example. If your friend talks about his marital problems to everyone but you, you can get upset. Internal dialogue will help solve this problem. Ask yourself, "Why am I in pain?" and answer the question: "Because my best friend shared his family problems with everyone but me." Once you have identified the feeling and its cause, weaken its influence. Tell yourself, "I may feel like an outcast, but maybe he didn't want to bother me because I was busy with the annual accounts." This will make you less upset.
2. To develop compassion, try to copy the body language of another person. This is helpful because body language not only expresses emotions, but also evokes them.
Example. By copying another person's tense posture, you can create tension in yourself.
3. To increase self-motivation and think more positively, think this way: People who believe they can change the causes of failure don't give up easily. They do not stop trying because they are sure that success depends on their own actions.
How you explain your successes and failures greatly affects your self-motivation. Conversely, someone who associates failure with personality flaws will give up soon. Such people are convinced that they will not be able to achieve success. If you want to be successful, drive away those thoughts.
The most important thing
Emotions play a much larger role in thinking, decision making, and personal success than is commonly thought. IQ is not your destiny. Emotionally intelligent people are more successful: their relationships are flourishing, they are stars at work. Remember that emotional intelligence can be nurtured in all of us.
A balance is needed between the emotional “feeling brain” and the rational “thinking brain”. At the same time, the “thinking brain” is able to correct the functioning of the “feeling brain” with the help of emotional self-regulation, preventing emotions from gaining total control.
Are emotions holding us back? Maybe it's better to be insensitive, logical thinking creatures?
Emotions are vital - they allow you to live a fulfilling life and learn from your experience.
Example. The brain not only accumulates facts, but also remembers feelings. Touching a hot stove will hurt. In the future, such an idea will revive the feeling of pain in the memory. So emotions will not allow you to make the same mistake.
Emotions help interpret other people's feelings and predict their actions.
Example. Imagine that you are standing face to face with an angry person. Body language (clenched fists or loud voice) tells you about his emotional state, and you can predict his next actions.
Emotions help to quickly respond to a situation.
Example. In the case of an angry person, emotions will make us feel threatened or angry, allowing us to react quickly to an attack.
People without emotion are incapable of acting.
Example. In centuries past, many mentally ill people have been treated with a "lobotomy" that separates two areas of the brain vital to emotional processes. As a result, patients lost initiative and drive for action, as well as most of their emotional potential.
Sometimes emotions get in the way of making a decision or cause you to act unreasonably
Although emotions are an important tool for interacting with the environment, they are imperfect and can lead to erroneous actions.
This happens when we are overly emotional. Our mind is capable of "juggling" many elements at the same time, but in a state of arousal it is overcome by disturbing thoughts and images. There is no room for rational thinking, and judgment becomes clouded.
Example. When you are scared, you react too emotionally to the situation (“fear has big eyes”) and you may even mistake the sheet on the clothesline for a ghost.
Under the influence of emotions, we rush to act instead of soberly assessing the situation. When information enters the brain, some of it enters the new cortex, which is responsible for rational thinking, and travels to the emotional brain. If the latter considers that the information is a threat, he can force us to act without thinking, without turning to the brain of thinking.
Example. You shudder if you see a strange figure out of the corner of your eye in a dark forest.
Outdated emotional responses can lead us to behave irrationally. The emotional mind reacts to the current situation based on experience, even if conditions have changed.
Example. A boy who is beaten by peers in school may grow up to be a strong man, but will still feel threatened by others.
Emotions are very important, but they can block rational thinking. To prevent this from happening, you need to learn how to effectively manage emotions.
Emotional intelligence allows you to manage emotions and use them to achieve goals
How can you harness the power of your emotions to eradicate their overwhelming influence?
Emotional intelligence will help you recognize and manage feelings without falling under their total control.
The first aspect of emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and name your feelings. This skill is vital. People who are unable to recognize their own feelings are more prone to bouts of rage. Understand your emotions, and you will immediately understand the reasons for their occurrence.
Often your feelings in a certain situation depend on your attitude towards it.
Example. If a friend walks by on the street without recognizing you, you will immediately think that he is doing it on purpose. This can upset or even anger you. But your friend might just not have noticed you.
When you can recognize and manage your feelings, emotional intelligence can help you focus on achieving certain goals.
Example. Let's say you need to write an article. You do not like the given topic and would rather go to the movies instead. Emotional intelligence can help manage these different feelings. You can try to look at the topic from a different perspective. Perhaps some aspect of it will interest you. And knowing what feelings going to the cinema will cause, you can put off this pleasure for a while, anticipating it.
Students who manage their workload tend to do well even if they have an average IQ.
Emotional intelligence helps you navigate the social world
The people around you play a big role in your life. Only by managing social interaction can one hope for a fulfilling, happy life. Emotional intelligence promotes the development of social interactions, allowing you to put yourself in the shoes of other people. You can understand the emotions of other people by analyzing non-verbal cues. To judge a person's mood, it is enough to pay attention to the clues (facial expression or body language). We usually detect these signals automatically.
Example. If a person turns pale and opens his mouth in amazement, it means that he is in shock.
Since emotional intelligence allows you to empathize with people, you will behave in ways that will elicit favorable reactions from others.
Example. Imagine that you are a manager and one of your team members makes the same mistakes all the time. You have to tell him about it and help him change, but do it right. If a person's feelings are hurt, they may become defensive and unlikely to do what you want them to. But by showing empathy and putting yourself in his place, you will definitely achieve your goal.
Emotionally intelligent people can develop social skills such as teaching others, resolving conflicts, or managing staff. And these abilities help maintain relationships in a social environment.
Emotional intelligence needs a balance between the emotional "feeling brain" and the rational "thinking brain"
Our thoughts and feelings are intertwined. The thinking brain (the stronghold of rational thought) and the feeling brain (the birthplace of our emotions) are inextricably linked through neural pathways. Emotional intelligence depends on the connectors between the brains for thinking and feeling, and any damage to these pathways can lead to a deficit in emotional intelligence.
Example. A person whose emotional brain is separated from the thinking one ceases to experience feelings and loses emotional self-awareness. Lobotomized patients exhibit this ailment: after the interruption of the connections between the two brains, they lose their emotional potential.
The thinking brain must correct the functioning of the feeling brain. It is a process of emotional self-regulation.
How does emotional self-regulation work?
Stimuli such as a sudden loud bang often overwhelm the emotional brain. The senses brain automatically perceives the stimulus as a threat and will put the body on alert. We use the thinking brain to regulate this process.
Hearing a loud bang, the emotional brain sends a signal to the body, the thinking brain checks the stimulus for a potential threat. In the absence of danger, it calms both the senses and the body, allowing us to think soberly again. Therefore, we are not too afraid of every sudden noise. If you break the connection between the two brains, such a process is impossible.
Example. Patients with severe brain damage thinking have difficulty controlling their feelings.
Emotional Intelligence Helps Be Healthy and Successful
What is the secret to a successful and fulfilling life? Many people think that people with a high IQ are more likely to have a happy life. Experience shows that people with developed emotional intelligence are often more successful.
Students with a high level of empathy are more successful than their less compassionate peers with a similar IQ. In general, students who are able to control their feelings get high marks.
Example. One Stanford University study looked at the ability of a group of four-year-olds to resist a treat. Years later, it turned out that those who controlled their impulses at the age of four did well in school and the social sphere. Success them accompanied in adulthood.
Emotional intelligence also helps to lead healthier lives.
Example. During periods of stress, the heart undergoes tremendous stress as blood pressure rises. Hence the risk of heart attack. Stress also weakens the immune system - there is a high chance of catching a cold when stressed. Emotional intelligence can help you avoid such dangers. By learning how to mitigate stressful feelings such as anxiety and anger, you can reduce their harmful effects. So, if people who have had a heart attack are taught to manage anger, then the risk of attacks in the future will significantly decrease.
The impact of emotional intelligence on success and health is enormous, but there is little emphasis on emotional skills in the school curriculum.
The face of society depends on the emotional intelligence of children.
Weak emotional intelligence can have negative consequences for the entire society.
Example. Threefold increase in teenage homicide 1965-1990 may be associated with a weakened emotional intelligence.
Deficiencies in emotional intelligence can lead to higher crime rates.
Example. Research shows that juvenile offenders find it difficult to control their feelings and “read” the expressions on other people's faces - just like sex addicts. And heroin addicts had difficulty managing anger even before their addiction began.
A child's well-being is also determined by emotional competence. Children growing up surrounded by emotionally intelligent people have a high level of EI. Children of emotionally intelligent parents find it easier to control their own emotions. They are practically not stressed, enjoy more peer disposition and are more socially adjusted, according to teachers. Children with deficits in self-awareness, empathy, or impulse control are at risk of mental health problems and are more likely to face difficulties in school.
Modern children are future parents, managers and politicians. Many of them will have a great impact on society and it is better for them to be caring, able to resolve conflicts and not be inclined to blindly follow the lead of feelings.
Ways to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence ensures a fulfilling life. How to level it up?
1. To increase the level of self-awareness and self-control, practice internal dialogues. This will help you recognize your own feelings.
Example. If your friend talks about his marital problems to everyone but you, you can get upset. Internal dialogue will help solve this problem. Ask yourself, "Why am I in pain?" and answer the question: "Because my best friend shared his family problems with everyone but me." Once you have identified the feeling and its cause, weaken its influence. Tell yourself, "I may feel like an outcast, but maybe he didn't want to bother me because I was busy with the annual accounts." This will make you less upset.
2. To develop compassion, try to copy the body language of another person. This is helpful because body language not only expresses emotions, but also evokes them.
Example. By copying another person's tense posture, you can create tension in yourself.
3. To increase self-motivation and think more positively, think this way: People who believe they can change the causes of failure don't give up easily. They do not stop trying because they are sure that success depends on their own actions.
How you explain your successes and failures greatly affects your self-motivation. Conversely, someone who associates failure with personality flaws will give up soon. Such people are convinced that they will not be able to achieve success. If you want to be successful, drive away those thoughts.
The most important thing
Emotions play a much larger role in thinking, decision making, and personal success than is commonly thought. IQ is not your destiny. Emotionally intelligent people are more successful: their relationships are flourishing, they are stars at work. Remember that emotional intelligence can be nurtured in all of us.
- Use emotional intelligence to sort out your emotions.
- Once you understand your emotions, you will understand the reasons for their occurrence and you can manage them or reduce their negative impact.
- Emotional intelligence will help you focus on achieving certain goals.
A balance is needed between the emotional “feeling brain” and the rational “thinking brain”. At the same time, the “thinking brain” is able to correct the functioning of the “feeling brain” with the help of emotional self-regulation, preventing emotions from gaining total control.
