Relationships are very difficult to maintain. Be it official, business or personal. The success of a long standing relationship lies in the ability of both parties to understand each other and act accordingly. Knowing the intricacies of the human mind enables us to take control of the ubiquitous situations that we encounter daily. This is where emotional intelligence comes into play. "It is the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in us and others." . We often act without thinking. But a balanced mind always helps in taking balanced decision. A person with high degree of Emotional intelligence will always "respond" to situations rather than "reacting", which considerably changes the outcome. There is overwhelming, incontrovertible, undeniable evidence that good emotional intelligence is a marker for success in today's workplace.
The first step to scoring on the emotional intelligence scale is self realization. We need to have a fairly good assessment of ourselves. We can understand others, only if we truly understand ourselves. Consistent observation of our mind will help us to understand the way our mind reacts to various situations. Knowing what agitates our mind, what pacifies it, what enthralls it and what instigates it will help us in contemplating our responses to various situations. Charles Darwin was the first to recognize the value of emotions. In his treatise on the "Origin of Species", he found out that the emotional system energizes the behavior to stay alive. This is more so in the animal kingdom. Humans are endowed with the ability to emote wisely which makes them more adaptable to the changing environment. But, the question is, how far we are successful in managing our emotions? The core of emotional intelligence is to understand what we are feeling, what others are feeling, how to manage our own feelings and how to manage the relationship with others.
We are being judged by a new yardstick. It is not how smart we are but how we are smart! The technical skills or the business expertise that so often propelled people are not the abilities that make one effective in inspiring people, in guiding people, in coaching, developing and motivating people. There is a wood cutters story wherein the person was employed and asked to cut down trees. The wood cutter worked hard day and night, enthusiastically, trying to complete the task on time. At the end of one week, his supervisor called him and to his utter consternation told him that he is fired. When asked why he is firing his most productive worker, the supervisor explained that his productivity was fine initially, but by the end of week it has slumped to an all time low because he did not spend any time in sharpening his axe!.
How often do we stop to sharpen our mind and become smart with our emotions?
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