Emotional Intelligence (3)

What are you putting out there?

The four main factors of EI are SELF AWARENESS, SELF-MANAGEMENT, SOCIAL AWARENESS, and RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT.

The self-awareness factor is often overlooked, since the focus of a lot of the EI discussion is on the interpersonal factors. But part of developing EI is knowing what’s going on with you.

Think about what makes for a really GOOD day at work for you. What is going on? How do you feel on that good day? Productive? Collaborative? Perfect? Like you’re making a difference? Like people respect you and value you? All of these are good things, but there is probably one thing that gives you that extra sense of fulfillment. Consider the impact of that good day on your energy, on your mood, on your sleep that night.

Now consider what makes for a BAD day. Same questions: what factor or factors are most impactful, and how do you feel when you experience them? What do you do in response? What do you WANT to do in response?

Use the self-awareness of the factors that motivate and de-motivate you to guide your actions. It’s pretty obvious to say something like “Try to maximize the good days and minimize the bad.” You don’t need this post to figure that out. But there is value in recognizing the factors that are eroding or attacking your sense of self-worth in the bad days, since you can then make better behavior choices that recharge that sense of self-worth, rather than venting to others about your problems, drinking too much when you get home, or simply letting the negative feelings fester.

(Photo by Drew Graham on Unsplash)