Emotional intelligence, or EQ, refers to one’s ability to identify, understand, use, and manage emotions in a positive manner in order to enhance communication, overcome challenges, relieve stress, empathize with others and defuse conflict. The scope of emotional intelligence is extensive and covers a variety of aspects in our daily lives, like how we behave and interact with others.

The first person to use the term emotional intelligence was Wayne Payne in his doctoral thesis, A Study of Emotion: Developing Emotional Intelligence. In his thesis, he compared the IQ and emotional intelligence and determined that EQ was superior because it covers a wide range of faculties and aspects of a person’s behavior. Studying your emotional intelligence will help you to understand the source and impact of your emotions better. This is important because it helps to enhance one’s self- awareness. Studying your EQ will also provide you with the opportunity to understand better the behavior of others and the underlying reasons why they act the way they do.

Emotionally intelligent people can harmoniously reconcile what their mind and reason tell them with the voice of their feelings and emotions. Thanks to this skill, emotionally smart people are self- confident, self-aware, creative, and energetic. They are also much more capable of handling stress and knowing how to get along with others. They are more optimistically approaching their life and don’t fear change. They are the people of success.

When you are emotionally intelligent, you are better able to recognize your own emotional state as well as the emotional state of others. Having a clear understanding of the emotional states of those around you can help you to better relate with them, achieve greater success, form healthier relationships, and lead a more satisfying life overall.

Compared to what we know as intelligence quotient or IQ, emotional intelligence is considered more important in attaining success and happiness in both your career and your life. Your ability to read and interpret other people’s signals and respond to those signals appropriately will ultimately determine how far you will go in both your personal and professional pursuits of success. This is why it is essential that you develop a high emotional intelligence that will help you understand, negotiate, and empathize with others.

Researchers in the area of emotional intelligence has determined that there are five major classes of skills that are associated with emotional intelligence:

• Self-awareness
• Self-Regulation
• Motivation
• Empathy
• Social Skills

Download the resources "Self-Regulation" and "Self Regulation Journal" to allow your mind to begin processing the ways in which emotional intelligence is applied in your every day life. Other pillars of EQ will be found in other activities.