How are you handling stress and transitions in your life?
Do you tend to react and feel out of control? Or are you thoughtful and intentional, taking into account both your feelings and the feelings of those around you?
Emotions are valuable signals that help us survive and thrive. When we learn how to use them, emotions help us make more effective decisions, connect with others, find and follow purpose — and lead a more whole-hearted life. For years, significant emphasis was put on IQ as a measure of intelligence indicator, academic performance and to some degree, professional and personal success, but something was missing…
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is as great a predictor of your success as your IQ
Why You Should Care About EQ
As a 6seconds.org SEI EQ assessor, I can tell you that emotions are part of you, and here to stay. Understanding them can help you navigate the complexities of making decisions, interacting with people, and helping you live more intentionally vs. stuck in the reaction cycle.
What is Emotional Intelligence (EQ) ?
In simple terms, “emotional intelligence” just means being smarter with feelings. It’s about putting together the rational and emotional so you can move forward effectively with your business, your relationships and your life.
What if I told you that in reality, feelings aren’t good or bad: they’re just information and energy?
It’s what we do with the information and energy that could be good or bad.
It’s like electricity: if you try to put metal in an electrical outlet, it can hurt or even kill you. Does this mean electricity is bad? No. It means we must take the time to learn about it and to use it carefully.
The same applies to your emotions.
We all have emotional responses & triggers…
Maybe it’s the shrill screeching of your children fighting
Or a stressful project deadline
Maybe things aren’t going your way and you’re mad
Or sad
Or hurt
Or overwhelmed… yet feel too guilty to take time out for you.
We all fight these feelings on occasion.
Judging them. Resisting.
Wondering why they’re here in the first place.
Or…not noticing feelings at all.
YIKES.
As I tell my kiddos:
“We don’t want to fight with the crankies, but find out what they mean, and then realize we have choices.”
So how do you navigate these emotions? Find the wisdom? Be vulnerable, authentic, and REAL but still be strong and successful?
That’s where I come in…
To help build you simple tiny habits to pause.
How would your stress levels change
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- If you found value and wisdom in your feelings vs. fighting them?
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- If you knew emotions as messages that affect every living cell?
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- Knowing each emotion has a neuro-chemical component which can be reabsorbed in as little as 6 seconds (time can vary). And If you’re feeling something for longer than six seconds, you are – at some level – choosing to recreate and refuel those feelings?
- The good news: the actual chemical reaction, or synapse, is very short. We have ways to interrupt the reaction cycle with something cognitive and to re-engage and re-connect our cognitive and emotional parts of our brain.
Boosting Your EQ Puts You Back In Control
Tuning into your EQ is a brilliant essential starting point for helping you navigate your emotions with grace and ease, allowing them to work for you.
Why EQ for you?
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- Because young people with high EQ earn higher grades, stay in school, and make healthier choices.
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- Adults with high EQ are more effective in their careers and have better personal & professional relationships.
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- Families with high EQ use emotions to actually help thinking; it’s key to problem-solving, creativity, and also empathy.
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- EQ skills are learnable, and predict stronger effectiveness, influence, decision making, health, relationships, and quality of life. (6seconds.org shows scientifically-based skills of emotional intelligence (EQ) essential for change)
