Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to accurately and consciously understand and influence how you feel about yourself and others, and the ability to use this information to proactively manage behaviors and relationships. However, the majority of adults are not consciously aware of what drives their negative or positive feelings and reactions towards people, circumstances, or events.
Those individuals who know and manage their own feelings well and who accurately read emotions in others while effectively influencing them have a strong competitive advantage in achieving corporate and financial success. In a study of 450 children who were born in an impoverished area of Boston, childhood assessed abilities such as being able to handle frustrations, control emotions, and get on with other people made the greater difference in their socioeconomic success as middle-aged adults than their childhood assessed IQ.
Emotional intelligence skills are primarily developed from infancy to early adolescence through observation and interaction with our caretakers. Even if EQ skills were not optimally demonstrated during these formative years when they were being unconsciously learned, the good news is that EQ can be consciously raised in adults through awareness, education, neuroplastic exercises, and practical implementation strategies.