People who have high emotional intelligence are able to recognize, understand and control their emotions. They also use their feelings to motivate themselves into action. When they need motivation, however, they can turn to something other than emotion- such as logic or reasoning.

It is important to note that while everyone has some degree of emotional intelligence, not every person uses their emotions in a productive way. Some people get so carried away by their emotions that they make poor decisions, which often hurt others.

Emotionally intelligent individuals usually weigh both positive and negative experiences when making a decision. They consider how much money will be made if they work towards a goal, as well as what would happen if they do not. Only then does it come down to deciding on the best option.

There are several theories about why someone might lack emotional intelligence. It could be due to genetics, early socialization, culture, life events, etc. No matter the cause, though, you can learn how to develop your emotional intelligence.

You can improve your empathy (the ability to relate to and understand the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of others) and self-awareness (being aware of your own strengths and weaknesses). With enough practice, you can master any part of emotional intelligence.

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This article will discuss how having higher levels of emotional intelligence helps you make better decisions. You will also find tips on how to increase your emotional intelligence.

Relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance

Recent research suggests that having high levels of emotional quotient (EQ) is important for career success. EQ refers to your ability to recognize, understand, and manage your emotions.

Most people are not aware they have limited levels of EQ. You may feel you’re in control of your feelings, but you don’t really know what goes into them.

It’s easy to think that because you didn’t cry when your friend said goodbye, that you’re not very sensitive.

But there are things like bereavement where it’s normal to get upset for a while. By using strategies such as trying to speak before you feel overwhelmed or seeking help from family and friends, you can deal with your sadness more effectively.

You also need to be able to acknowledge and accept your own mood swings.

If you’ve got low EQ, then chances are you won’t enjoy being around others much. You’ll probably find working close to other people tiring, which could affect how well you perform your job.

Ways to improve your emotional intelligence

One of the most important things you can work on is your emotional quotient (EQ). This term was coined in 1990 by Daniel Goleman, an author who studied emotions for their importance in life.

He defined it as how well you understand and manage your feelings and stressors in relation to other people and situations. There are three main components to this:

* The ability to recognize your own feelings
* The ability to identify and be aware of someone else’s feelings
* The ability to control or regulate your own feelings

When you have high EQ, you are more likely to use effective strategies to deal with thoughts and feelings. These strategies include using positive thinking, asking questions, and putting yourself in another person’s shoes before making assumptions about them.

You also need to acknowledge and accept that there will sometimes be disagreements, but you should try to resolve them peacefully. Sometimes, though, conflicts cannot be resolved unless you take strong action, so knowing when to escalate what you are doing is very important.

Become a good listener

A large part of effective decision making is being able to listen to what other people have to say, understand their points, and then formulate an appropriate response.

This is difficult to do if you are not a very strong listener. You must be willing to give up your own thoughts and ideas and focus on what others have to tell you.

By doing this, you will learn a lot about them as well as find out what actions they want you to take. In business, this is important because most people don’t know what action to take unless you help them come up with one themselves.

Becoming a better listener will also improve your relationships with people.

Make eye contact

A recent study conducted at San Diego State University found that making direct, meaningful eye contacts with people can help you make better decisions. The researchers asked participants to work on an assignment as they would normally, except during the last few minutes when they would be given a surprise test. Some of the participants were asked to look directly into the eyes of another person while the other participant watched them. Others had one party look away or at the floor before the unexpected testing occurred.

The researchers found that using indirect gaze strategies (such as looking down or away) made it more difficult for others to connect their actions with how they felt about someone or something. In contrast, having direct eye contact helped individuals assess whether someone else was sharing mutual commitments or if they were planning to back out.

By being aware of your emotional intelligence, you can recognize these signs and either avoid potential conflict or resolve it sooner. When you are in a situation where there is possible disagreement, try giving direct eye contact so that people feel connected and supported. Then, once the discussion has calmed down, shift to indirect gazes to evaluate whether people have dissolved the argument or not.

Your emotions play a significant part in how well you interact with others. Use this knowledge to strengthen your interpersonal skills and boost your decision-making ability.

Be honest with your peers

As mentioned before, EI is not only helpful in workplace relationships, but also for making decisions. Because of this, it’s important to be honest about your emotions so that you can acknowledge how you feel and therefore make better decisions.

By being aware of your feelings, you will understand why certain things made you feel a given way and then you can choose whether to act or re-evaluate what action to take.

This is very valuable as there are lots of situations where someone may try to influence you by using emotion. For example, if a friend tells you that something seems wrong, chances are they would want you to agree and play along.

By having higher levels of emotional intelligence, you will know when others are trying to manipulate you and yourself won’t be easily swayed.

Don’t be egotistical

A lot of people have a hard time letting go because they hold onto their beliefs about themselves or feel threatened by what they perceive to be threats to who they are.

This can sometimes lead to poor decision making and self-destruction. For example, someone may keep working for a manager that doesn’t show much respect towards them even though it comes with a cost in pay and benefits.

They could stay in this situation longer than necessary until something happens that motivates them to leave. When that happens, it can be very difficult to process all of your feelings so you don’t want to make any hasty decisions. This can easily cause more problems down the line.

It is important to recognize when things aren’t going your way and need to change but also know how to let go and move forward.

Be humble

In your twenties, you probably had more emotional intelligence (EI) than now. You’re not as aware of how you feel about things and what things mean to you.

In your thirties, your EI decreased slightly because you experienced less happiness and success in life.

As you get older, your EI can decrease even further. This is due to two factors.

One is that as you age, you become more concerned with proving yourself rather than showing how much you care. The other factor is that as you experience fewer successes, you believe they are only for people who “have it” — the ability to be happy for no reason.

So, you stop trying to be happier and instead focus on being less unhappy. Unfortunately, this isn’t a good way to use your energy.

You’ll eventually run out of ways to stay unhappy, so you give up and decide it’s time to change something. Or, you give up trying to make others feel better and learn to do it for yourself.

But, when you don’t understand your own feelings, learning how to be happier takes longer. It may take you weeks or months before you realize there’s a difference between thinking about how you could be happier and actually doing something to make you happier.

Learn to laugh

In fact, research shows that people who are able to laugh more frequently and use humor in daily life tend to make better decisions than those who do not.

The reason for this is emotional intelligence. You see, we all have different levels of emotional intelligence. Some people are very aware of their emotions and how they affect others around them, while other people are less aware of this.

People with higher EQ are conscious of their own feelings as well as those of others. They recognize what causes someone else’s emotion to rise or drop and know when these changes are for the good or bad.

In addition to understanding your own feelings, you also understand why someone else might be feeling a certain way. This helps you identify reasons why something good will happen or why something bad will occur.

You learn to predict how things will go by recognizing patterns in situations and individuals. All of this makes it easier for you to control your reactions to things so that you can regulate your emotions.

Emotions play an important part in helping us achieve our goals, but only if they influence us positively.