Tag: emotional intelligence

Dwell in possibility.” ~ Emily Dickinson

I am in one of those cycles again, where the challenges feel bigger than life, where I can’t discern the small passing inconveniences from the larger looming threats. They all run together in a continuous low-grade anxiety that I can’t quite shake. I don’t even dare look at the news feed on my phone.

It becomes hard to trust your own thinking when nothing seems to be working. The space between how I thought it would go and how it is going seems to widen in front of my eyes. Maybe most difficult of all is how often the undesirable outcomes around us spill over into our relationships, both at home and at work.

The notion of emotional intelligence (EQ) having more or just as much importance as IQ has been circulating in the business world for some time. It’s now expected and sought after in all of the executive ranks. It seems logical that EQ would be even more critical in our relationships and especially in our marriages.

From a marital standpoint, this type of "intelligence" helps you understand your spouse’s point of view. It helps you recognize his or her emotional state and react appropriately. It’s also about fine-tuning your self-awareness and regulating your own emotions. All ingredients in a happy, balanced, respectful and loving marriage.

Chaos theory tells us that a force as tiny as the fluttering of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately affect the weather hundreds of miles away. In a dynamic system such as the Earth’s weather, minor differences in initial conditions can create unpredictable, far-reaching long-term results.

A child’s emotional life is just as complex as the Earth’s atmosphere. One childhood event can send ripples far into the future, even into the next generation.

Self-awareness is a key predictor of a child’s ability to be balanced and secure in life. Being self-aware helps kids establish positive peer relationships, allows them to get along well at home and to respect authority. Self-awareness is at the core of emotional intelligence and is crucial in your children reaching their academic and personal goals all throughout life.

Here are 7 ways to parent self-awareness in your children:

"Experiencing one’s self in a conscious manner–that is, gaining self-knowledge–is an integral part of learning." ~ Karen Stone McCown

People who are emotionally intelligent are seriously sexy. Fluency with one’s emotional life defines our ability to master most other life experiences. Being constantly caught between fight or flight is not flattering, and sadly our sex appeal bears its weight.

Most of us complain about how complicated and difficult relationships are. It isn’t unusual to blame someone; the other person or ourselves. However, if we take a step back and look at what it is that makes a relationship possible in the first place, we may find a surprising solution. I did, and it changed my life.

Evolutionary biologists speculate that the reason we developed emotions was to make relationships possible. They allowed a mother and baby to bond, helping ensure the baby's survival. From there, emotions expanded to being the connecting fiber of every relationship. There is something wonderful about realizing that.