1. What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) or Emotional Quotient is the awareness of one's emotions and of others'. This awareness forms the basis of informed personal decisions. This eliminates impulsive and reactive responses.
2. How is EQ different to IQ?
If EQ is emotional awareness, Intellegence Quotient (IQ) is the abililty to use reasoning and logic, problem solving and translate complex ideas.
3. Why is EQ important?
I think EQ is important for two main reasons:
- We are surrounded by stress. It may be at home, at work or at school but it is almost always present in varying degree. However, how we react or respond to it is up to us. This is where are EQ comes in. The higher EQ we have, the more stable we are when these stressful situations come up.
- As they say, no man is an island. We are always dealing with people. How we interact and communicate with others is a sign of our EQ maturity.
In connection to my journey at Dev Academy, EQ is vital because working with others and stress is a constant. On top of this, the process of learning something new in high volume and limited amount of time adds to the pressure. Personally, I should take time to gauge my well-being. Although I feel excited and challenged more than anything else, I still need to make sure I don't get burnt out which will make everything else negative. Also, I should pay attention to my classmates who are facing the same challenges. It is a possibility that some of them are overwhelmed. Not only with studies but also with their own personal lives while going through this course.
If there is something I would like to practice more, it's to reach out to others and offer a helping hand. Surprisingly, sometimes all they need is your ear. I've noticed during our looping sessions that it always go beyond 30 minutes. I say this in a good way because we are able to share and unload our experiences with someone who can relate. The conversation always end with a positive note.