I hate Emotional Intelligence.

Well actually, I dislike the term, “Emotional Intelligence.”

Why?

Intelligence is something you are stuck with.  You get your quotient, your share, and that’s it. Done. Experts say you can stretch it a little bit, but not appreciably.  Mental push-ups won’t develop a cerebral six-pack.  Vitamins won’t make you any smarter. You got what you got, and that’s it. End of story!

Understanding emotions is a different story altogether. If you just don’t “get it,” if relationships just don’t make sense, you’re not stuck with that level of ignorance.  You can improve your emotional awareness and your ability to manage your emotions.  You can develop interpersonal skills and become a master of managing others’ emotions.

Understanding emotions is less about the quotient that was rationed out to you and more about becoming literate. Literally!

So, can we call it Emotional Literacy?  

You like the sound of that already, don’t you? With work and practice you can become emotionally literate.  And when you do there’s a big payoff. At work, boosting your emotional literacy translates into cash. People who improve their understanding of the complexities of human emotion are more successful at the office and at home.

Your technical skills got you your job, but your emotional literacy is the biggest predictor of how far you will climb the corporate ladder.

Start your emotional enlightenment by becoming aware of your own emotions. Self-awareness is the first and most basic of four principal areas of emotional literacy and is simply tuning in to your emotions. At any given time during your day, ask yourself, “What am I feeling right now, as I’m having this conversation, or taking this action? What are my feelings running in the background, and how are they influencing my decisions and behaviors?”

 

Take action:

Keep track of your emotions for a week. At the end of each day list all the actions you took and then try to identify the emotion that accompanied that action.  This is the beginning of becoming self aware.

Go have a T-shirt made with “Emoliterate” printed on the front and wear it with pride!

Enjoy the journey as you take this first step of emotional literacy.

 

We’d love to hear from you tim@encorelifeskills.com

Helping folks become emotionally literate is what we do at Encore Life Skills. Please let us know how we can help you