We explain what emotional intelligence is and the origin of the concept. In addition, we explain its characteristics, intellectual intelligence and more.
What is emotional intelligence?
emotional intelligence It is the individual’s ability to perceive and understand the emotions of oneself and others. and, with that information, be able to guide their thoughts and actions.
The word intelligence refers to the ability of the mind to learn, reason, analyze and make decisions. In the case of emotional intelligence it is that faculty, but to understand feelings and what happens with them. Besides, It allows you to have self-control of your emotions and impulsesa necessary ability to maintain ties with other people and behave in a socially acceptable manner.
Learning emotional intelligence is possible, although it may be more difficult for some people than others. It requires conscious work to begin to recognize one’s own emotions and then understand where they come from or what triggers them, so that one can manage and control them.
Learning and developing emotional intelligence allow the individual to have a better quality of lifea higher level of self-knowledge and greater empathy with the world around them. This ability, combined with intellectual intelligence, is necessary both for a person’s adaptation to different environments and moments in life and for achieving goals and objectives.
See also: Personality
Origin of the term emotional intelligence
The concept of emotional intelligence It was proposed in 1995 by the American psychologist, journalist and professor Daniel Goleman. in his book “Emotional Intelligence”, in which he explained his study of this type of intelligence and its scope and benefits in the field of business administration.
According to Goleman, the concept of emotional intelligence arose from the question: Why are there people who adapt better than others to the various situations of daily life? Goleman later confirmed that this capacity for adaptation did not depend on the individual’s level of intellectual intelligence.
Goleman’s theory states that, in addition to the intellect and the ability to reason that allow the individual to solve problems, the development of emotional intelligence is even more important to achieve personal success and happiness. Emotional intelligence is not a static capacity, but rather It varies throughout life and the individual can improve it over time..
The ability to recognize, understand and express one’s own and other people’s emotions is a faculty that can be developed and enhanced. In fact, It is a fundamental capacity for the good growth of a personto maintain good interpersonal relationships, be able to focus on goals and objectives and tolerate and overcome moments of crisis.
Characteristics of emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is characterized by involving the following set of skills:
- Emotional awareness. It refers to self-awareness and the ability to understand one’s own emotions.
- Managing emotions. It refers to the ability to control impulses and the manifestation of emotions.
- The motivation. It refers to the ability to channel and guide emotions to encourage positive action in the individual.
- Empathy. It refers to the ability to perceive other people’s emotions and feelings.
- The interpersonal relationships. It refers to the ability to manage one’s own emotions in relationships with other individuals.
How to exercise emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence can be exercised at various times and in different ways. Some examples are:
- Tolerate and accept criticism from others, as a way of learning to improve.
- Learning from a mistake and be able to move forward.
- Express what one feelseven if it is something negative, without offending others.
- Learn to value oneselfas well as valuing others.
- Can solve problems in a way that benefits everyonenot just for personal gain.
- Understand that what can result What is best for one person may not be best for others..
- Understanding the emotions of otherslisten to them and accompany them.
- To be awarethat is, understanding why one feels what one feels and being responsible for it.
- Understand that you should not judge, but be nice and, from there, make use of reason.
- Recognize what another person may be feelingbeyond their mere words, through their gestures, their body posture or their gaze.
intellectual intelligence
intellectual intelligence It is the ability to acquire knowledge, think and reason which allows the individual to analyze situations objectively, make appropriate decisions, navigate society and adapt to possible changes.
To a large extent, cognitive ability is innate and is due to the person’s genetic factors, although social and environmental factors influence development and stimulation during learning, among other acquired issues.
Continue with: Intuition