IQ VS EQ

We all know what IQ is and we drop our jaws in awe of those with elevated IQ levels, but we rarely focus on EQ. Research from Harvard Business School demonstrated that EQ counts for twice as much as IQ and Technical Skills in determining who will be successful! The term “emotional intelligence” was coined in the 1990s, then popularized by psychologist and author Daniel Goleman in his book “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.”

The 5 components he references:

1. Self-awareness

If you’re self-aware, you can see your own patterns of behaviors and motives. You know how your emotions and actions impact those around you, for better or for worse. You can name your own emotions when they come up and understand why they’re there.?

You can also recognize your triggers, identify your strengths, and see your own limitations.

Being self-aware can also mean you’re humble — we’re all only human, after all.?

2. Self-regulation

If you can self-regulate, your emotional reactions are in proportion to the given circumstances.

You know how to pause, as needed, and control your impulses. You think before you act and consider the consequences.

It also means you know how to ease tension, manage conflict, cope with difficult scenarios, and adapt to changes in your environment. It’s all about bringing out the part of yourself that helps manage emotions.

3. Motivation

If you’re intrinsically motivated, you have a thirst for personal development. You’re highly driven to succeed, whatever your version of success looks like.

You’re inspired to accomplish goals because it helps you grow as a person, rather than doing it for outside rewards like money, fame, status, or recognition.

4. Empathy

If you’re empathic, you’re a healthy level of self-interested — but not self-centered.?

In conversations, you can understand where someone is coming from. You can “walk a mile in their shoes,” so to speak. Even if the exact scenario hasn’t happened to you, you can draw on your life experience to imagine how it may feel and be compassionate about what they’re going through.

You’re slow to judge others and possess the awareness that we’re all just doing the best we can with the circumstances we’ve been given. When we know better, we do better.

5. Social skills

If you’ve developed your social skills, you’re adept at working in teams. You’re aware of others and their needs in a conversation or conflict resolution.

You’re welcoming in conversation, using active listening, eye contact, verbal communication skills, and open body language. You know how to develop a rapport with others or express leadership, if the occasion calls for it.

Some people are born with EQ, while others can think of it as a skill set that needs to be acquired. With practice, it’s possible to develop or strengthen it.

As William James said: “I have no doubt whatsoever that most people live, whether physically, intellectually, or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make use of a very small portion of their possible consciousness… much like a man who, out of his whole body organism, should get into the habit of using and moving only his little finger… We all have reservoirs of life to draw upon, of which we do not dream.”