Personal Development: 5 Simple Ways to Develop Your Emotional Intelligence by Mary Stedul

Posted on the 11 July 2013 by Stacie Walker Stacie @staciewalker

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Contributing Author: Mary Stedul

People with high level of emotional intelligence have some qualities, which set them apart from others.

They listen to other people, never let their emotions take control of them and take the best decision even in pressure situations.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand your emotions and realize how they effect on the people around you.

Having high level of emotional intelligence also lets you clearly see the emotions of other people. Thereby, helping you manage relationships in better way and prevent potential conflicts.

5 Main Features of Emotional Intelligence

According to an American psychologist Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence consists of five elements:


1.) Self-Awareness

Those with high level of emotional intelligence understand their emotions. Therefore, they will never let them to get out of control. They always have honest outlook about themselves and know their weaknesses and strengths.


2.) Self-Regulation 

They have much better control over their reactions in specific situations. People with high emotional intelligence are thoughtful, have ability to say no, and are comfortable with change.

3.) Motivation

They love challenges and love their work. They think of long-term goals and are ready to take immediate loss for that. People with high emotional intelligence are highly productive with their results.

4.) Empathy 

Empathy is your capability to understand the feelings of others even when they are not clearly visible. People with high emotional intelligence have high degree of empathy and they are better in maintaining relationships.


5.) Social Skills 

People with high emotional intelligence have good social skills. That's why they can resolve disputes and misunderstandings in a better way. They have great communication skills and can build good relationships.
Now you would have understood the importance of emotional intelligence in your personality if you want to succeed in your life.

Would you like to increase your understanding of emotional intelligence?

Here are three excellent books to read by Daniel Goleman:

  • The Brain and Emotional Intelligence: New Insights
  • Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ

5 Tips to Developing Emotional Intelligence


Emotional intelligence can be developed in anybody. Below are five simple tips that can guide you on how to improve your communication skills and your emotional intelligence:

1.) When interacting with others.

Try to imagine yourself in their place and try to understand their perspectives. Don't be prejudiced against anyone and make judgments based on complete facts.


2.) Humility is a virtue that you must have.

It doesn't mean that you should shy away from your accomplishments, but just that you must not practice any over confidence. Give the people around you encouragement and room to move ahead.


3.) Make an honest assessment of yourself and try to find your weaknesses.

You must analyze whether you can accept that you are not perfect and try to work on things that you think are your weakness.

4.) Analyze the situations where you were upset or lost your control.

Try to find whose fault it was and whether you are blaming others or they really deserved your anger. Your ability to control your emotions and not being in their control, can be deciding factor next time you get into a bad situation.


5.) Apologize to others when you are wrong, taking responsibility of your actions is a good thing.

The conclusion of today's post is that by practicing the tips given above, you will slowly see the changes in your attitude and then in the attitudes of people towards you.

You will also find, that with better emotional intelligence you can actually improve your life.

Here are three more helpful resources on emotional intelligence:

  • What is Emotional Intelligence (EI)?
  • Stephen Covey on Developing Emotional Intelligence

Image Credits: rochemartin, thriving, forbes, theogm, yourwealthforlife


About the Contributing Author:

Mary Stedul is a freelance writter and a blogger. Mary is also a specialist in providing certificate IV on-lineCurrently, she is writing self improvement, training and career improvement related articles for SAVE Training.

You can add Mary to one of your circles on Google+ and you can follow her on Twitter: @MStedul

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