17 Apr 5 ways emotionally intelligent people live happy and healthy lives
Emotional intelligence has always been positively related to happiness.
The ability to recognise and manage one’s own emotions; combined with the ability to recognise and respond appropriately to other’s emotions is, not surprisingly, very closely connected to good quality relationships, good mental health, and positive emotions including (of course) happiness.
So given my focus, here, on happiness and living well, I thought you’d find the following interesting and useful…
via the Ladders by Christopher D Connors
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ultimate game-changer for living a happy, healthy and rewarding life because it is a skill set all of us can grow and attain. The beauty of EQ is that it’s all-inclusive and accessible to every one of us.
Like any skill worth improving, it’s something we must devote time to building.
Let’s first define what emotional intelligence is. Peter Salovey, the President of Yale University and John Mayer, say that it is the ability to:
“Recognize, understand and manage our own emotions. Recognize, understand and influence the emotions of others. In practical terms, this means being aware that emotions can drive our behavior and impact people (positively and negatively), and learning how to manage those emotions — both our own and others.”Settle in with FoxtelAd by Foxtel See More
This article will teach you how emotionally intelligent people recognize, understand and manage their emotions, as well as the emotions of others. As the author of an upcoming book on emotional intelligence, I’ve dedicated my life to studying how to use it, and helping organizations and leaders transform their personal and professional lives by leveraging its power.
I’ll show you how you can improve your emotional intelligence each day to live a happier and healthier life. Let’s first begin with self-awareness, a skill we can continuously work on and improve on our own.
They Have a Healthy Relationship With Self
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” — Aristotle
Self-awareness is the ability to understand ourselves, the way we feel, why we feel that way and to use that knowledge to continuously, learn, and improve. At its core — self-awareness is an intimate evolutionary process of self-discovery that elicits joy, pain, discomfort, curiosity and strength. Because getting to know yourself isn’t easy work — it’s hard, but always worth it.
Self-awareness helps you to discover your passion, values, purpose, mission and goals. It brings clarity and allows you to make sense of your past, present and future, all while you evolve as an analytical, reflective thinker. To give love, hope and joy to others, you first must know yourself and what you’re capable of giving. Self-awareness allows this magical work to take place.
Dr. Tasha Eurich puts forth:
“Leaders ”who focus on building both internal and external self-awareness, who seek honest feedback from loving critics, and who ask what instead of why can learn to see themselves more clearly — and reap the many rewards that increased self-knowledge delivers.”
How to improve self-awareness:
- Develop a mindfulness practice for 30 minutes each day to listen to your thoughts, analyze them and allow yourself to experience those emotions
- Determine the values that give meaning to your life (e.g. honesty, faith)
- Clarify what you want most out of life and why you feel that way
- Practice self-care and speak positive words of affirmation over your life
They Prioritize What’s Important
“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Happy and healthy people that live with high emotional intelligence are able to regulate their emotions and prioritize what is most important to them. The best visual representation I’ve ever seen of how to assess your wants and needs in life comes from the great Dr. Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” seen here:
Self-management is how you use self-awareness to help you manage your emotions and do so in a way that aligns with your values. It helps you to battle adversity and overcome limiting beliefs and barriers that stand in your way. It gives you the confidence and tools to plan your day in accordance with what you want to do to become happier, healthier and more productive.
How to prioritize what’s most important:
- Plan your day into time blocks; You don’t need to plan every minute; Group your time into categories that align with your values and goals
- Declare the things in your life that are essential (needs) and create a prioritized list of the things you value the most (this will allow you to place an emphasis on how you manage your time)
- Do the “Big Rocks” Activity:
- Big Rocks= What are the most important parts of your day?
(Possible Examples): Family time, writing, job presentation, learning, restPebbles= What are the things that need to get done? The more urgent/necessary items? - (Possible Examples): Work task; paying bills; writing a term paperSand= What are the “little pieces” that supplement your bigger ones?
- (Possible Examples): Planning; Helping team members; Professional DevelopmentWater= What is the glue that holds it all together for you?
- (Possible Examples): Defined success & purpose; your values; knowing who you serve; why what you do matters
… keep reading the full & original article HERE