Continuing on with this week’s topic of Emotional Intelligence (EI), you may be wondering what strategies you can take that would improve or enhance yours. Having EI is vital in all areas or your life but it is a critical skill for those in leadership positions (or desire to be).
There are countless ways to improve your overall life. However, the chances are high that you’re overlooking one of the major areas: your emotional intelligence. Improving your emotional intelligence can create a significant difference when it comes to your happiness and success.
If you’re looking to increase your emotional intelligence, here are the top five methods to try:
Find Stress-Relieving Techniques
One of the easiest ways that you can improve your emotional intelligence is to determine your sources of stress and find a way to limit them. Stress-relief measures, like meditation, deep breathing, and yoga, might work for some people, but others might find hitting the speed bag or going for a run to be more effective at reducing stress. Finding out what works best for you can help you become more emotionally intelligent in no time.
Take a Pause Before You Judge
Judging others is often a knee-jerk reaction that has become second nature to many of us. However, if you want to increase your emotional intelligence, you need to identify your judgmental thoughts and try to pause before you make a quick judgment. When you take the time to think about it, you may find that you are not upset at the person (perhaps at yourself), but you are dealing with stress in another part of your life.
Become Aware of How You Feel
Rather than immediately trying to combat negative feelings, take some time to sit with them for a while first. Start to understand what it means for you to feel anger, resentment, or anger without an immediate fix can help you address what is causing you to feel those feelings and allows you to find a healthier way to deal with those emotions. Denial is not a good place to be in, despite it being ‘easy.’
Learn to Take Criticism
No one likes to feel as though they are being criticized. However, learning to accept constructive criticism is a significant part of being emotionally intelligent. Understanding why that criticism might be necessary, and learning how to believe what is being said might be true and adapting your performance is a massive step for increasing your emotional intelligence.
Accept Your Weaknesses
No one is perfect, and that’s alright. However, if you are looking to increase your emotional intelligence, it is imperative that you accept your weakness and learn from them, rather than simply denying that you have them. Learning to accept your shortcomings can significantly improve your emotional intelligence and, the lessons learned, will set you on a course for more success.
Emotional intelligence is an essential aspect of both your personal and professional success. Following these five methods for increasing your emotional intelligence can significantly improve your life. Start with self-assessing yours and then work from there. You’ll be glad you did and can position you as a thoughtful and relatable leader.
“To increase your effectiveness, make your emotions subordinate to your commitments.” -Brian Koslow
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