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10/8/13

What is Emotional Intelligence? | Halfmantr.com

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What is Emotional Intelligence?


Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage ourselves and our relationships with others so that we can live our intentions. Indeed, emotional intelligence is about making choices. However, having said that, it is important to recognize that, other peoples behavior can definitely influence our feelings. In nut shell the working definition of EI could be knowing and managing our own emotions and those of others for improved performance. Emotional intelligence has a lot to do with being intelligent about your emotions. It involves the ability to recognize your own emotions as well as the emotions of other people. It includes understanding emotions. It also has to do with how you manage your emotions and how you manage other peoples emotions. EI can also be understood as a form of intelligence that displaces a natural or emotional inclination with one that will lead to a better outcome. It presupposes that we are aware of and have control over our emotions, are aware of the emotions of others, can apply influence to others emotions and use this emotional capacity to achieve success. EI is about: 1. Knowing how you and others feel and what to do about it 2. Knowing what feels good and what feels bad and how to get from bad to good 3. Possessing emotional awareness, sensitivity and the skills that will help us to stay positive and maximize our long-term happiness and well-being Emotional intelligence isnt just about being nice to people. You also have to recognize another persons perspective and use your emotions appropriately. So, in some cases, emotional intelligence means that you must be tough with the other person, or show him or her that youre frustrated. Emotional intelligence is more about being able to read the other person and using your emotions appropriately. Aristotle expressed it this way: Everybody can get angry thats easy. But getting angry at the right person, with the right intensity, at the right time, for the right reason and in the right way thats hard Emotional intelligence is related to outcomes and informs our choices and decisions. For the very reason that it involves some sort of choice, for every decision there will be a reaction our own and what we feel about that decision, and in others and what they feel. It can be compared to a game of tennis where we have a choice of ways in which we can play our opponent. Through the experience of playing against them

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10/8/13

What is Emotional Intelligence? | Halfmantr.com

we can develop winning strategies. Although pure intelligence can be applied, it is emotions such as selfbelief, confidence and determination to succeed that drive the way we play. To quote Charles Darwin, it is not the strongest of the species who survive, nor the most intelligent, but those who are most adaptive to change. This term was coined when people began to observe that human beings with a high Intelligence Quotient (IQ) were not free from failing in everyday concrete situations, whereas others with an average IQ succeeded. During the early part of the twentieth century, researchers and psychologists seriously began to study various forms of general intelligence. By the time the IQ test was established and being used in schools, David Wechsler, who developed the latest version of the IQ test in 1940, already felt that there were other areas of intelligence that needed to be measured. He inferred that one of the areas we needed to look at was what is now called emotional intelligence. In 1955, Albert Ellis, the founder of rational-emotive therapy, speculated that people could learn to deal with their emotions by using their rationale. In 1980, Dr. Reuven BarOn, an Israeli psychologist and Rhodes Scholar, began to study how emotions affect peoples functioning. Classic Intelligence can be defined as what is measured by the IQ tests. These tests are about logical reasoning abilities, spatial orientation, analytical skills, language skills, etc. In short its a series of skills which you require to rationally analyze and solve a problem (in the largest sense of the word). However, solving problems requires more than just some cognitive skills. We distinguish three phases in a problem-solving strategy: 1. Problem description: to gather the facts together in a comprehensive overview of a problem (basically what we learn to do at primary school); 2. Problem solving: to propose a (theoretical) solution which takes into account all the elements identified in the problem description; 3. Implementing the solution: to find a way of applying the chosen solution. The first two parts of the problem-solving process belong to the domain of classic intelligence. They are the result of applying logical thinking. However, the third, practical, part requires more Emotional Intelligence. Intelligent actions are now seen to result from a harmonious blend of emotion as well as reason. Reasoning, on its own, is not enough to produce consistent success. Emotional intelligence is about the choices available to people or groups of people. It is about the decisions they make and the achievement of the most favorable outcomes for those involved or affected. History is full of brilliant, successful men and women who failed miserably or underachieved in the classroom, and whose teachers and guidance counselors relegated them to life on the margin. But despite this convincing body of evidence, society has persisted in believing that success in school equals success in lifeor, at the very least, in the workplace. Now that assumption is being overturned. Classic intelligence and rational thinking have dominated Western society for centuries. It was Freud who showed, through his analysis of the unconscious, that there is more to us than rational thinking. Since Freud, the development of psychology has brought us the insight that a persons actions arent just rational or logical. Their premise for emotional intelligence was that intelligence alone is not a pre determinate feature of success in life and work. Intelligence as represented by IQ ignores aspects of personality, emotion and behavior that are equally, if not more likely, to show how someone will perform. Emotional intelligence is therefore an important factor in evaluating people for roles, in making personal and business decisions, reacting collectively to circumstances and also in leading others. Rather than simply being nice, emotional intelligence means being real, open, and honest regarding our feelings. This can take courage as it is often easier to skirt around issues than to confront them directly. Rather, we need to be real in our interactions with others. While we should be sensitive to other peoples feelings, ignoring or overlooking their negative or destructive behavior does them no favors. If we truly care about someone, we must be forthright and honest even though it may be uncomfortable for us at the time and not appreciated. True friends will end up appreciating that we had the courage, and cared enough, to be honest with them. Knowing when to follow our own and others feelings and emotions, and when to ignore them, is a valuable attribute. Unlike IQ, whose level remains more or less constant throughout life, EQ can be improved through observation, learning and experience. Behavior is significantly more affected by emotions than just by intelligence. As Goleman points out, Emotional intelligence does not mean giving free rein to feelingsletting it all hang out. Rather, it means managing feelings so that they are expressed appropriately and effectively, enabling people to work together smoothly toward common goals. The most exciting and promising aspect of emotional intelligence is that we are able to change it. In other words, unlike our IQ, we are not stuck with what we are born with. The great news about EQ is that it is not fixed or only developed at a certain stage in life. It has been shown that life experiences can be used to

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10/8/13

What is Emotional Intelligence? | Halfmantr.com

increase EQ and that we can continue to develop our capacity to learn and adapt as we grow older. The EQ realm is one area that does reward us for successfully having gone through stages of our lives. In the book The Millionaire Mind by best-selling author Thomas Stanley, a survey was taken of 733 multimillionaires throughout the United States. When asked to rate the factors (out of 30) most responsible for their success, the top five were: 1. Being honest with all people 2. Being well disciplined 3. Getting along with people 4. Having a supportive spouse 5. Working harder than most people All five are reflections of emotional intelligence. Cognitive intelligence, or IQ, was 21st on the list and only endorsed by 20 percent of the millionaires. In fact, it went even lower when millionaire attorneys and physicians were taken out of the analysis. SAT scores, highly related to IQ, were on average 1190, higher than the norm, but not high enough for acceptance to a top-rated college. Go to Previous Page

Comments
#
2013-07-03 13:31 0 Good one.. Please check w hether the font size and the gap betw een the lines are sufficient as I feel like straining myself reading the article. Reply | Reply w ith quote | Quote

# YOGI

2013-07-03 19:33

+4

Hi I guess you could try the inbuilt functions in the computer like zoom to make your reading apt. Reply | Reply w ith quote | Quote

# shobhit gupta

2013-07-03 18:34

0 8) and yes,

hi sir... very nicely compiled. perhaps w e require EI not only in civil services but in every day life.

thanks for covering one full topic of paper 4. thaks for ur efforts. please keep posting. :-) Reply | Reply w ith quote | Quote

2013-07-04 00:37 0 Thanks a lot for giving such a valuabl information as I couldnot afford coaching but hope that I w ill benefit from it.... Reply | Reply w ith quote | Quote

# lalit

2013-07-04 03:44

0 Reply | Reply w ith quote | Quote

Thank very much

2013-07-04 23:38 0 great article. this signifies you need not to be an intelligent person to be successful in your life, but rather how you deals w ith the real w orld problem by controlling your resources and utilises them in a constructive w ay. must read article for moral boost up Reply | Reply w ith quote | Quote

2013-07-05 14:55 0 That w as a nice article..not only from civil services exam point of view but as a general funda to be succesful in life Reply | Reply w ith quote | Quote

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