What is Emotional Intelligence?

When you think about intelligence what springs to mind?

You might first think of the IQ test. Based on standardized tests designed to assess individuals intellectual abilities, these tests look at things like logical reasoning, abstract thinking, math skills, spatial thinking etc.

Emotional intelligence, however, refers to intelligence of a different kind – simply put, the ability to manage and identify your own emotions, as well as understand the emotions of others.

Emotional intelligence can give you insight into others and yourself, which can then inform your decision making. If we have more understanding of what is going on at an emotional level this can help us to make decisions conciously without allowing our emotional state to sub-conciously drive us.

Managing our emotions is also really important when we are in stressful situations. How often have you snapped or behaved in a way you regretted later due to difficult emotions such as fear, anger or anxiety?

Growing your emotional intelligence can help you to identify those feelings and adjust your response to them. It can also help us to relate better to others, improving our relationships.