10 Ways to Increase Your Emotional Intelligence

Psychologyx,
10 Ways to Increase Your Emotional Intelligence,  Everyone always talks about Emotional Intelligence (EI), in the Indonesian language is called emotional intelligence or emotional intelligence, but what exactly is it? One important aspect of emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, control and evaluate the emotion - in yourself and others - and use it as the appropriate information.

For example, emotional intelligence in yourself can help you organize and manage your emotions, while recognizing the emotions of others can create empathy and success in your relationships, both personal relationships and professional relationships.

In 1990, Yale psychologist John D. Mayer and Peter Salovey coined the term emotional intelligence, which some researchers claim that this is an innate characteristic, while others show that you can develop and improve it.

Perhaps not all of you have a psychotherapist to improve your emotional intelligence, but now you can become your own therapist. The same was done by Freud, a figure of psychoanalysis. It all begins with learning how to listen to your feelings. Although it is not easy, developing the ability to manage your own emotions, but this is the first and most important step.

Norman Rosenthal, MD, a psychiatrist and researcher explain seasonal affective disorder in a book entitled "The Emotional Revolution", quoted from psychology today (05.01.12), here are 10 ways to improve your emotional intelligence:

    Try to feel and understand your feelings. If you feel uncomfortable, you may want to avoid because of annoying. Sit down, at least twice a day and asked, "How am I feeling?" Might take a bit to feel it. Put yourself in a comfortable space and protected from outside interference.
    Do not judge or change your feelings too quickly. Try not to ignore your feelings before you have a chance to think about it. Healthy emotions often rise and fall in a wave, rising to peak, and decreases naturally. The goal is not to cut off a wave of your feelings before reaching the peak.
    See if you find a relationship between your current feelings with the same feelings in the past. When difficult feelings arise, ask yourself, "When I felt this feeling before?" Doing this search can help you to recognize when emotions today is a reflection of the current situation, or events in your past.
    Connect your feelings with your thoughts. When you feel there is something that strikes with amazing, try to always ask, "What I think about it?" Often, one of our feelings would be contrary to the mind. That is normal. Listen to your feelings is like listening to all the witnesses in court cases. Only by recognizing all of the evidence, you will be able to reach the best decision.
    Listen to your body. Dizziness in the head while working may be a clue that your work is a source of stress. A rapid heart rate when you'll meet a girl and ask her out, perhaps an indication that this would be "a real thing." Listen to your body with sensations and feelings, that the signals they allow you to get the power of reason.
    If you do not know how you feel, ask for help from others. Many people rarely realize that other people can assess how we feel. Ask someone who knows you (and who you believe) how they look at your feelings. You'll find a surprising answer, good and enlightening.
    Log into your subconscious. How do you feel more aware of your subconscious? Try free association. In a relaxed state, let your mind wander freely. You can also do dream analysis. Keep a notebook and pen beside your bed and start writing down your dreams as soon as you wake up. Give special attention to dreams or recurring dreams involving a strong emotional load.
    Ask yourself: What am I feeling right now. Start by assessing the amount of welfare that you feel on a scale of 0 and 100 and write in a diary. If you look extreme feelings in one day, take a minute or two to think about the relationship between mind and your feelings.
    Write down your thoughts and feelings when it is on the decline. A study showed that by writing down your thoughts and feelings can be very helpful to know your emotions. A simple exercise like this can be done several hours per week.
    Know when to re-look out. There is time to stop looking into you and turn your focus outward. Emotional intelligence involves the ability not only to look into, but also to be present in the world around you.