Page 24 - Scholarship Guide Feb 2019

22 FOUR SIGNS YOU HAVE HIGH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Imagine for a moment you lost your job. An emo-
tionally intelligent person might perceive their emo-
tions as cues to take action, both to deal with the chal-
lenges and to control their thoughts and feelings.
But someone with poor emotional skills might
ruminate on their job loss, come to think of
themselves as hopelessly unemployable, and spiral
into depression.
YOU CAN MODIFY YOUR EMOTIONS
Of course, there are times when your feelings can get
the better of you, but if you are an emotionally intel-
ligent person, it is likely that when this happens you
have the skills needed to modify your emotions.
For example, while average levels of anxiety can
improve cognitive performance – probably by increas-
ing focus and motivation – too much anxiety can block
cognitive achievement.
So knowing how to find the sweet spot, between
too much and too little anxiety, can be a useful tool.
Emotional intelligence can mean the difference be- It is clear that moderation is the key when it
tween behaving in a socially acceptable way and comes to managing our emotions. Emotionally intel-
being considered to be way out of line. While most ligent people know this and have the skills to modify
people will have heard of emotional intelligence, not their emotions appropriately.
many people really know how to spot it – in them- And this is probably why emotional intelligence
selves or in others. has been shown to be related to lower levels of anxiety.
Emotional intelligence is essentially the way you
perceive, understand, express, and manage emo- YOU CAN PUT YOURSELF IN
tions. And it’s important because the more you un- OTHER PEOPLE’S SHOES
derstand these aspects of yourself, the better your If you are able to extend these skills beyond your own
mental health and social behaviour will be. personal functioning, then that’s another sign that
It might be these are things you do without even you have high levels of emotional intelligence.
really thinking – which can be the case for a lot of peo- Emotional intelligence can be particularly impor-
ple. Or it might be that these are skills you know you tant in workplaces that require heavy “emotional la-
need to work on. bour” – where workers must manage their emotions
Either way, improved emotional intelligence can according to organisational rules.
be very useful in all sorts of circumstances – be it in This can include customer service jobs, where
work, at home, in school, or even when you’re just so- workers may need to sympathise with customers – de-
cialising with your friends. spite the fact that customers may be yelling at them.
So if you want to know if you’re emotionally intel- This is why workplace emotional intelligence
ligent, simply check the list below. training is now common – with the most effective
training focusing on management and expression of
YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR REACTIONS emotions, which are directly linked to communication
Emotional intelligence can mean the difference be- and job performance.
tween a good reaction and a bad reaction to circum- It’s also worth pointing out that emotional intel-
stances. Emotions can contain important information ligence is a cognitive ability that can improve across
that can be useful to personal and social functioning your lifespan. So if you haven’t recognised much of
– but sometimes these emotions can also overwhelm yourself in the traits listed above, fear not, there’s still
us, and make us act in ways we would rather not. time for you to work on your emotional intelligence.
People who lack emotional intelligence are more
likely to just react, without giving themselves the time
to weigh up the pros and cons of a situation and really
thinking things through.
People who are less able to regulate their
negative feelings are also more likely to have dif-
ficulty functioning socially – which can exacerbate
depressive feelings.
People with major depression have been shown
to have difficulties understanding and managing their
emotions. And research has also shown that more
depressive symptoms are present in people with
lower emotional intelligence – even if they are not
clinically depressed.
YOU SEE SITUATIONS AS A CHALLENGE
If you are able to recognise negative emotions in your-
The above article is written
by Jose M. Mestre & self and see difficult situations as a challenge – focus-
Kimberley A. Barchard for ing on the positives and persevering – chances are
theconversation.com. that you’ve got high emotional intelligence.