5 Exercises To Develop Your Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is a dimension of our lives that we should all develop and manage properly. Knowing how to listen to the other, understanding the emotions of others, controlling your own emotions, knowing how to communicate and promoting mutual respect is essential for a good relationship.
It is a type of intelligence that should be included in the school curriculum to develop basic skills in children. It is a form of self-knowledge, self-control and expressiveness, of knowing your own limits and, at the same time, imposing yourself to avoid possible manipulations.
As we already know, the one who has a high IQ, who has a better job, or who is dedicated to accumulating “things” is not smarter. True intelligence is associated with genuine happiness, which makes us proud for being who we are and with what we have, whether a lot or a little. So why not practice these simple exercises to improve our emotional intelligence?
1- Know yourself
Getting to know yourself is an adventure that lasts a lifetime. It’s a daily effort, setting goals and learning from them; it is an exercise in introspection that we do every morning. Ask yourself what you want for today and tomorrow.
When night comes, reflect on how you felt throughout the day. Did you act as you wanted? Did you express yourself according to your values? Ask yourself questions and keep a journal, on some paper or a book of thoughts. It’s a simple exercise, but with great results.
2- Emotional balance
Think of your emotions as a scale, where it’s not worth going to extremes, because we always end up losing. Do not let yourself be manipulated or retaliate against words full of anger or fury. The ideal is balance, never reach the limit of your emotions.
When you feel that you are about to “explode” visualize a small, quiet and airy room; it is your palace of thoughts. This room is your own space, use it whenever you need it. Before acting, think, reflect and analyze the situation. When you feel emotionally balanced, make your decision.
No one has more control over your life than yourself, never forget that. So don’t let other people make you lose your cool or your identity , work your inner balance.
3- Empathy
Empathy is a concept that is part of emotional intelligence and we all know and value it. However, we don’t put it into practice as much as we should. It’s easier to put yourself in the shoes of people who convey positive feelings to us. We identify with them and the level of understanding and intimacy is greater.
But why not try to empathize with someone who bothers us? For example, the boss who doesn’t respect you, the colleague who always speaks ill of others and only looks for problems. Try to put yourself in their shoes, and maybe find out what’s behind their behavior. It can be insecurity, low self-esteem… try it, it can be a good learning experience.
4- Motivation
You might be a little discouraged. But from now on we’ll do a simple exercise: let’s just look at the positive side of things and forget about the negative side. Get up every day thinking of something that excites you and that you want to achieve.
Anything can be useful to motivate us: have a coffee in that coffee shop you don’t know, call someone you haven’t seen for a long time, buy a new dress, plan a trip for the end of the week, start a yoga class or paint or smile a little more…
5- Social skills
Let’s try to communicate a little better. And not just in words, but in gestures as well. Get closer to people, smile, pat, slap the shoulder or hug and realize that their reaction will be different.
Seek and offer positive emotions, look into their eyes and try to listen to the person in front of you. Perhaps you discover much more than with simple words. Put all this into practice, develop your emotional intelligence and be happier, making others happy too.
