Emotional Intelligence Pop-Quiz

Emotional IntelligenceOne of the fastest ways to reduce productivity is to lose it emotionally. It’s been shown that emotional intelligence (EQ) far exceeds the importance of IQ.

How many times has something happened that got you emotionally wound up and it zapped your energy, stole your creativity or damaged a working relationship. It happens all the time.

Emotional Intelligence is: “the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.” – Daniel Goleman

One of the best immediate ways to immediately increase your emotional intelligence is to simply create a habit of asking, “What’s the rest of the story?” whenever things happen BEFORE you engage emotionally.

Emotional Intelligence Pop-Quiz:

You’re driving straight home from the dealership with your brand new dream car when suddenly a boy on the side of the road throws a large rock and hits the side of your car, obviously putting a dent in the door.

Two Questions:

1) How do you feel right now?

2) What do you do?

a – Pull over and talk the boy!
b- Pull over and #%*!@ the boy!
c- Keep driving home and pretend it didn’t happen!
d- Keep driving home and share with your spouse and others the terrible thing that happened and what an awful boy that kid is!
e- Keep driving home and call the police or child’s parents!

Here’s the rest of the story… You choose to pull over and before you can say anything the boy yells to you, “I’m so sorry about hitting your car but I didn’t know what else to do! My brother is just over the this ridge. He has had a terrible crash on his bike and he isn’t moving. I didn’t know how else to get someone to stop and help! Will you please help him?!”

How you do you feel now?

Amazing what the rest of the story instantly does for you, isn’t it? Now think back to your earlier answer on what you would have done – a, b, c, d, e – which did you choose? What effects would your response have led to? Would they have been appropriate given the whole story?

ACTION STEP:

Commit to creating a habit that when things happen, you immediately engage the thought, “I wonder what’s the rest of the story?” This thought allows you to keep you emotions in check rather than just being a walking reaction to the world around you.

You may not be able to raise your IQ but you are certainly able to grow your EQ! And, by doing so, you’ll change not only your life but the lives of those around you as well.