Emotional intelligence determines how well you do at work. Do you have the traits that define it? “If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far,” Says Daniel Goleman, PhD, well-known writer and researcher on leadership.
No amount of smarts will make up for a lack of the ever important emotional and social abilities, especially as part of the professional world. Not sure how to recognize these essential traits? Here are seven signs of emotionally intelligent people:
- You don’t do negative self talk – I think it can be said that we all do it sometimes. We get down on ourselves and feel uncomfortable with our decisions, so we treat ourselves poorly. This is something emotionally intelligent people don’t do.
- You don’t limit your joy – Emotionally intelligent people don’t allow anyone to take their joy away. They live life as fully as they want.
- You listen to your body – Emotionally intelligent people listen to their bodies. They eat the right food and get enough sleep.
- You disconnect from time to time – At least for me, being connected via cell phones and Internet all the time is a serious downer. Don’t be afraid to shut off the phone for a few hours and enjoy your day.
- You appreciate the things you have – You don’t covet the possessions of others. The bar for happiness is not raised or lowered by other people, but by you. You don’t need to see what your friends and neighbors have and strive for that. Strive for what you want in life.
- You boot toxic people from your life – The worst people are toxic people. They enter our lives, tell us we can’t, take all of our time and energy, and leave us with nothing. Emotionally intelligent people don’t have time for toxic friends.
- You let go of the bad – Emotionally intelligent people have no time to carry around baggage. It weighs us down and weakens our sensibilities. Let go of mistakes. Let go of grudges. Let go of all the bad stuff the weighs you down.