EQ & Kindness

Have you heard about EQ or Emotional Intelligence?   It seems to be getting a lot of attention lately.  Considered “soft skills” or “people skills”, this ability has become quite a topic of conversation.  The definition of Emotional Intelligence according to the Oxford Dictionary is the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judicially and empathetically.

Researchers are finding that without Emotional Intelligence, it can hinder your success in your personal and business life, as well as in school. Some experts even suggest that EQ may be even more important than IQ.

Not much attention was given to the impact of emotions, until it gained momentum in 1990 when Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer published their landmark article “Emotional Intelligence,” in the journal Imagination, Cognition, and Personality.  Peter Salovey is now the President of Yale University and Founder of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Their mission is to “use the power of emotions to create a more effective and compassionate society.”

A testimonial from the Yale Center from Emotional Intelligence 6th grade student: “I learned to put myself in another person’s place. I think I learned the most from the word ‘accepting’ because I rarely used to accept people.”

The Yale Center’s evidence shows that “positive classroom climate decreases negative peer interactions such as bullying, and it improves students’ academic achievement and mental health outcomes.”

If Emotional Intelligence is a main ingredient in academic and social success, will it become part of the future curriculum in schools?  According to the New York Times article  “Can Emotional Intelligence be Taught?“, the Edutopia Foundation has been active in bringing EQ into the school curriculum for the past decade.  The first to adopt social and emotional learning was the State of Illinois in 2003.  Other schools have since adopted “evidence based programs.”

If you are interested in your EQ, take the quiz below at Edutopia.org http://www.edutopia.org/louisville-social-emotional-learning-quiz

These new ideas and techniques are showing us the way into the future of human development in our academic, social and business lives.  We must continue to develop and adopt these programs to encourage emotional intelligence to enhance our relationships which lead to success in all areas of our lives.

Compassion, empathy and understanding are skills that will go a long way in making the world a better place. Our EQ will help us all to get there.

“All learning has an emotional base” ~ Plato

 

Resources: NYtimes.com, ei.yale.edu, edutopia.org