Over the past few years, emotional intelligence (or EQ for short) has become one of the most popular psychology theories. Many claim that it can have profound effects on your life, helping you to overcome potential stumbling blocks such as social anxiety or job burnout.

While some believe that it is an innate quality that people are born with, research suggests that developing your EQ isn’t necessarily natural but rather something that can be learned through education and practice.

This article will talk about how you can use emotional intelligence in your daily lives to help you achieve your goals and improve your overall wellbeing. So, let's get started!

Emotional quotient - what is it?

Before we dive into ways to boost your EQ, here's a brief definition of what makes up this integral part of self-awareness. The term "emotional intelligence" was first coined by Daniel Goleman back in 1995 when he published his book titled "Emotional Quotient".

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Goleman defined emotional intelligence as the ability to recognize our emotions and then use them effectively to motivate ourselves and others towards our goal. He also mentioned the three main components of emotional intelligence - understanding yourself, understanding other people, and control over your own emotions.

It's important to note that while having high levels of emotional intelligence is great, it is not equivalent to having high levels of emotion regulation. That would only contribute to higher stress levels and poorer mental health.

Link between emotional intelligence and career success

Over the past few decades, psychotherapies have focused heavily on understanding and managing your emotions. This is an important factor in leading a successful life.

In fact, there’s a growing body of research that suggests that people who learn how to manage their emotions are more likely to succeed in work and other areas of their lives.

This is because emotional skills play a significant role in helping you achieve your goals and reduce stress, which can help you focus and perform your duties better.

There are several types of emotional skills, like emotion regulation or empathy, but one of the most essential ones for developing your leadership potential is what's been coined as “emotional literacy."

Emotional literacy refers to being aware of your own feelings and those of others. It also means knowing what influence these feelings have on others and yourself.

Ways to improve your emotional intelligence

Developing your emotional quotient (EQ) is an ever-evolving process that requires you to recognize, understand and manage your emotions.

Many people believe that being emotionally intelligent means being able to identify what emotion someone else is feeling and then matching that with their own feelings. While this does indeed make you more aware of other people’s emotions, it can have some negative effects as well.

By identifying what emotions others are having, you may be inspired or provoked into having similar ones yourself – sometimes even stronger ones! This can become too much for them to bear, making them feel even worse than they already do.

It also makes them feel like they have to explain themselves to you which often creates conflict and arguments. Having high EQ doesn’t mean that you are always calm and controlled; it just means that you're better at recognizing and understanding other people's emotions.

There are several ways to develop your emotional intelligence so that one day you can walk away knowing that your inner child has been reawakened. Here are five easy ways to do that.

Become a better friend

Being a good friend means more than just being supportive of your friends when they are having a great day. It is also about listening to them talk about their problems and offering solutions or advice if asked, supporting them in efforts to improve their relationships, and showing an interest in who they are as a person.

Being a better friend requires us to be aware of what our friends like and dislike, and why. This way, we can work on changing things for the better. Sometimes this includes trying new foods, games, or activities that your friend has been asking you to try for a while!

As seen with Kylie, her bestfriend Sarah works hard to make sure she is always happy. When Kylie’s friend was unhappy with something, she would do some research and find out how to fix it or change it so that she could use it instead.

This made her feel better and helped her enjoy the product more. If her friend wanted to keep using the old one, she would let her go through those feelings and then choose to stick with the less effective one instead of switching back to the newer, improved one.

That is what a good friend does. They watch out for their friends and help them deal with anything that may be bothering them.

Become a better partner

Over the past few years, there has been an explosion of interest in what is now referred to as emotional intelligence (EI). Many claim that it can change your life for the better, offering you more opportunities in life.

Some even say that having high EI makes you happier than people with low EI. That may sound crazy, but we’ll talk about why this idea is worth considering later in this article.

For now, let’s look at some ways you can develop your EQ. We’ll focus mostly on empathizing with others, because it's one of the most important skills for success in work and in life.

You probably know someone who is very emotionally intelligent. They are aware of how other people feel, and they use these feelings to help them understand and treat their friends, family, and colleagues with respect and dignity.

This person might be able to tell when a friend is struggling and offer kind words or supportive gestures. They could also recognize a colleague’s potential and try to help them reach it, while still keeping things professional.

People with higher EQs seem to get along with everyone, which is why they are usually chosen as team leaders and organizers of groups. They are known for their ability to create trust and unity within teams.

But being a good group leader isn’t enough if you're trying to succeed alone.

Become a better parent

As mentioned earlier, being a good parent doesn’t happen overnight. It takes work, effort, and practice every day. But once you understand how important emotional intelligence is as a parent, you can start working towards it.

Parenting isn’t just about teaching your kids how to be people, it’s also about helping them learn how to control their own emotions.

You see, when a kid feels angry or hurt for no reason, they sometimes turn that anger and hurt onto another person – even if it’s not their fault. This happens almost automatically when children are very young, but as they get older, these things become more powerful.

When a child is in high school, for example, they might feel mad at someone else because something happened between them and you. So instead of controlling their own feelings, they lash out at the other person.

This could easily go both ways. You might get yelled at by a student because you made an error, but there’s a chance they’ll hold back because they don’t want to lose face. Or maybe they’re too scared of you to let yourself go.

Become a better worker

As we've discussed, emotional intelligence is an important skill for anyone to have, but it's especially crucial for those who work with people.

If you're someone who uses power when talking about things or others, then you need to learn how to connect more using empathy and understanding of other people.

This will make your job much easier as you'll be able to relate to them more easily and thus influence them less forcefully. You can also use these skills in case something goes wrong so that you don't take any bad feelings too far.

On the other hand, if you're always asking questions instead of making decisions yourself, you'll burn out quickly. You'll need to develop self-confidence which comes from knowing what you know and being confident in yourself.

Use emotional intelligence to your advantage

Overcoming adversity can bring out the best in you, so use these lessons to motivate yourself or develop this skill if you need it. It’s easy to forget how powerful emotions are when things aren’t going your way, but they’re part of what makes us who we are.

Emotions help us bond with other people, make smart decisions, and achieve our goals. We feel motivated when we’ve got something on the stove, for example, and we’ll usually take extra care to ensure that everything is cooked properly.

When someone does something nice for you, like saying hello after you left the house, you’ll be inspired to do something kind for another person.

Using emotional intelligence helps you manage your moods and understand why you’re feeling the way you are. Plus, it can boost your confidence and self-esteem, which are important tools in any area of life.

Recognize your emotions

Another way to use EI in your life is by recognizing your own emotional states. You can do this through practicing mindfulness, which means paying attention to what you are doing at each moment.

This also includes being aware of how you feel about things and yourself. For example, if someone does something that makes you feel bad, try to recognize why they did it and what they might be going through.

You could even ask them “why” they did it from their perspective so you can understand where they came from. This will help you apply empathy to their situation.

Running away or ignoring an argument or conflict is another way to not utilize emotion recognition. If you are able to take time to work on this, then eventually you will get better at it.