6 Practical Tips to Strengthen Emotional Intelligence
Have you ever responded to a situation in a way you weren’t proud of?
Regardless of how great or accomplished we are, we all battle with emotional management at times and suffer the consequences.
According to research, negative emotions have an impact not only on our relationships but also on our capacity to perform well. When we are stressed, frustrated, afraid, or angry, our focus, physical health, mental health, and decision-making deteriorate.
Therefore, it is vital to know how to handle them. Here’s where emotional intelligence comes in. Emotional intelligence is your ability to understand and manage your emotions.
But wondering how to develop it?
Follow the six practical tips below to strengthen emotional intelligence.
1. Enroll in Emotional Intelligence Training
There is no doubt that one of the best approaches to improving your emotional intelligence is through training. Emotional intelligence training is aimed at helping you understand and appreciate the dynamics of your emotions, learn ways of handling stress, and enhance your relationship with others.
Thus, if you join an emotional intelligence course, you can learn from professionals and apply scientifically proven methods to your development. These courses may include elements of emotional intelligence, including recognizing your moods and feelings, regulating them, understanding the feelings of others, and interacting accordingly.
Also, they offer practical ways of applying these skills in a classroom setting under the supervision of qualified instructors.
2. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness means actively paying attention to the present in a non-judgmental manner. This state of awareness enables you to understand thoughts and feelings that come without necessarily being swayed by them.
Thus, daily mindfulness training is a perfect method of building up self-consciousness, a vital component of emotional intelligence.
In order to introduce mindfulness into your everyday life, begin by dedicating 5-10 minutes in the day to the practice. It could include basic exercises such as deep breathing, guided imagery, or even mindful strolling. In these sessions, concentrate on your breath, physical feeling, or the space surrounding you. Remember that your thoughts shall wander; when it happens, gently reconnect with the present.
3. Keep an Emotion Journal
Another good practice that can be used in developing emotional intelligence is carrying an emotion journal. It refers to a practice whereby you write down feelings daily and then think about what led to such feelings.
In this way, you capture the patterns of feeling that are helpful to see how emotions shape your behavior and actions.
In your journal, identify the events or circumstances that elicited feelings or responses that were profound or intense, regardless of the polarity. Furthermore, write down the specific feeling, the action it brought out in you, and the consequence of that action.
As time goes by, you will be in a position to identify patterns that, for instance, occur frequently. For instance, it can help you understand specific conditions that lead to frustration or anxiety. Knowing this can help you handle the situation better in the future.
4. Engage in Active Listening
Empathy, one of the essential aspects of emotional intelligence, cannot exist without active listening.
Active listening is a technique that requires you to center your attention on the speaker and understand the message the speaker is conveying without extending an opinion on the same immediately.
To practice active listening, try to look directly at the person who is speaking and focus on their gestures and intonations. Do not interrupt or worry about your response while they are speaking. Rather, you should concentrate on listening to their words and attempting to grasp the feelings of the speaker.
When speaking, you may use phrases such as ‘I understand’ or ‘You must feel overwhelmed’ to acknowledge what they are going through.
5. Practice Self-Regulation Through Breathing Exercises
Emotional intelligence does not only mean identifying emotions but also regulating them as well. Interestingly, self-regulation or the ability to control emotions, is a key component of emotional intelligence.
That said, a technique of self-regulation that is easy to implement is deep breathing, which assists in controlling the nervous system and, subsequently, the emotions.
However, whenever you realize that you are under pressure or feel stressed, try to pay attention to your breathing. Breathe in through your nose and count to four, hold the breath for four counts, and finally, breathe out slowly through the mouth until you reach four counts.
6. Practice Empathy by Putting Yourself in Others’ Shoes
Empathy is the ability to identify with the feelings of others and is an essential element of emotional intelligence.
You can develop empathy by making a conscious attempt to look at the situation from another’s perspective, especially during conflicts or misunderstandings.
So, the next time you are upset over a conflict or about someone’s misbehavior, try looking at it from their angle.
Questions like “What might they be going through right now?” or “What could have made them do that?” help you put yourself in their shoes, and instead of getting annoyed at their actions, you might just understand why they did what they did.
Conclusion
Emotional intelligence plays a vital role in success in all aspects of life, and like any other ability, it can be acquired through practice.
Some of the strategies for enhancing emotional intelligence include taking emotional intelligence training, being mindful, journaling emotions, listening actively, regulating emotions, and being empathetic.
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