Being happy happens to be smart. But we are not talking about that intelligence measured by the intelligence quotient, but about emotional intelligence. Know what it is? Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and regulate emotions in yourself and to better understand emotions in others. And the bonus of this concept is that it helps us to be happier, so we have discovered some simple exercises to improve your emotional intelligence. You sign up?
Exercises to improve emotional intelligence
- Emotional intelligence is based on 5 fundamental pillars and based on them you can practice some simple exercises that will help you be happier and better understand yourself and others. The pillars of emotional intelligence are:
- Emotional self-knowledge: before you start you have to know yourself and your own emotions well. You also have to know your reactions, what situations trigger some emotions or others and lose fear of their intensity.
- Emotional self-regulation: with the emotions identified and knowing that both positive and negative ones are part of our life, it is time to regulate them or what is known as managing emotions so that they do not cause as much impact in your own life.
- Self-motivation: if you have ever felt emotionally overwhelmed, you will have verified that your attention is focused on negative emotions as if nothing else existed. That is why it is so important to have illusions or to be motivated, to be able to focus your attention on the things that really make you happy.
- Empathy: emotional intelligence also includes the emotions of others. If you better understand your emotions, you will be able to better understand others, be more generous with them and, especially, more understanding.
- Social skills: and empathy leads us to have better social skills, a fundamental aspect of our lives that we sometimes put aside due to this tendency towards individuality.
And on these 5 pillars of emotional intelligence, there are some easy exercises that you can put into practice now.
Exercise for emotional self-awareness
Spend at least 10 minutes each day reviewing the emotions you’ve had during the day. How have you felt, if you have taken things personally, what has made you sad or angry or extremely happy. Writing a diary can be a good method to release those emotions and be able to review them the following days.
Exercise for emotional self-regulation
Are you over it? Breathe. Take a deep breath, hold your breath, and let it out slowly. While you do it, think about that emotion that is hurting you and why. Don’t try not to think about her, don’t try to push her away, and don’t try to push her away. Accept it and wrap it with your breath.
Exercise for self-motivation
Sometimes it is difficult to maintain motivation and illusions vanish among so many doses of reality. That is why it is important that you dedicate a few minutes to your dreams every day, do not stop dreaming big because it is what keeps you alive. Don’t lose sight of your dreams and neither do your goals.
Exercise for empathy
Are you listening to me? Surely more than once you were talking to someone and it gave you the impression that they were not paying attention to you. And what about you? It is very possible that you do the same. So next time you sit down for coffee with your best friend really listen to her, watch her and pay attention to her non-verbal language from her. You will see how you understand many more things about her.
Exercise for social skills
Emotional intelligence doesn’t care if you’re shy and have poor social skills, because the social approach can be done with a simple smile. Dedicate a few smiles to your co-workers, your neighbor or that stranger at the bus stop every day.
And you, what are you waiting for to put emotional intelligence exercises into practice?