Imagine how life would be if we were not able to manage our own emotions.
This is where our EQ (Emotional Quotient) comes into play. It is when we are able to identify, understand and manage emotions so that we can communicate effectively, work stress-free and are able to overcome conflicts.
This could be in two ways –
- Understanding and identifying one’s own emotions or
- Understanding and identifying others’ emotions.
Raksha was very short-tempered. Even the silliest of things would trigger her anger. What next? She would end up yelling at others, or even at times throw things around her, sometimes even harming others. After a few minutes, she would even feel guilty about her actions.
Not only her siblings but even her parents were scared of her anger. How much ever they try, nothing could make up to Raksha at that moment. She was not exactly wrong, but it was just her weakness of not being able to control her anger. Most of the time neither her siblings nor her parents would talk to her for they feared her anger fit. This often led to a communication break and distorted their relationship forever.
Few people are born with a good Emotional Quotient but others are not. Many don’t even realize how it is affecting them and their surrounding. For example, in Raksha’s case, she was living at the edge where she could explode any minute which affected her as well as her family.
In our everyday life too, we see that many times people get angry with the wrong people. Somebody’s anger is taken out on somebody else. This again is a sign of lack of Emotional Quotient. For example, the frustration of boss’ shouting is shown on the child at home. We all tend to do that but is it the right thing to do? Maybe not! So how do you think we can make it better?
Few things that can really help us make a difference would be:
1. Self-awareness:
It is important that we are aware of our own feeling. At times, we do not even know how we feel and what is actually making us feel so. Hence, if we feel things going out of hand, it is important that we stop for a minute and ask ourselves what is making us feel so.
2. Self-Regulation:
Once we are able to trace back to what is making us feel so, it is also important that we monitor our own actions and alter them accordingly. For example, Anger is an important emotion but as a result yelling, shouting, kicking the door, throwing things might not be the right way to express it. Hence keeping a check on them is important.
3. Empathy:
As much as Emotional Quotient is about us, it involves the people around us as well. It is important to understand the other person’s point of view before jumping to conclusions.
Not having the correct emotion can gibe rise to negative feeling but the good news is that it’s never too late to work on it.
