Components of emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence went from being a little-known research topic in psychology to a media event.

Although other psychologists and psychiatrists addressed the existence of other factors or types of intelligence beyond the purely cognitive, and elaborated fundamental theories that developed the subject, its rise and popularity is due to Daniel Goleman.

He has been its main disseminator since he published his book on the subject in 1995, and the person responsible for bringing emotional intelligence closer to people.

But why has everyone embraced this concept with such enthusiasm? Well, partly for the same reason that intellectual intelligence has been respected and valued; emotional intelligence is a set of skills that is directly associated with success and progress.

The difference is that emotional intelligence has a greater impact on people's lives because we are social beings who are still largely guided by our emotions, whether consciously or unconsciously. We are beings that have to relate and work together to get what we want.

One of Goleman's strongest statements is that success in life depends on 80% of emotional factors and only 20% of purely cognitive factors. Another fundamental aspect is that this type of intelligence can be molded. As with traditional cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence is the result of our gene pool and what we are able to enhance during our early formative years. The difference is that it can continue to grow throughout our lives.

Impact of emotional intelligence

As expected, the business sector was immediately interested in the scope of this theory and its possible application to increase the productivity and performance of its human resources. It is currently taken into account in the elaboration of organizational strategies and has been a determining factor in the training of top executives due to its impact on leadership. As well as in areas such as marketing, sales and customer service.

This has not been the only sphere that has embraced the teachings of emotional intelligence; in education, psychology and coaching it is already part of their processes. But its true impact lies in its daily use, in the possibility of improving our quality of life and well-being. Emotional intelligence is deeply related to personal development.

This is not to say that managing or adjusting our emotions is an easy task; it takes considerable effort. Goleman tells us that these skills can be acquired through self-mastery or training, and our rational side plays a fundamental role in helping us develop the necessary competencies.

Main components of emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence involves the processes of recognizing, using, understanding and manipulating our emotions and feelings to change, influence others or resolve situations. In order to do this, the person must be involved and must develop a series of practical skills that help him/her in his/her efforts to grow.

Below are the five fundamental components of emotional intelligence identified by Goleman that we must take into account to create any emotional development strategy.

Self-awareness: This refers to the need to correctly identify our emotions and feelings. Understanding what we are feeling. Recognize our moods and how it influences our actions, if possible as they occur.

With this knowledge we can use emotions to think better and avoid making a resolution when we notice that we are overwhelmed or dominated by a particular emotional state, for example.

Self-regulation:It is to take a step in function of choosing which feeling to identify with depending on whether it is useful or not at that moment. It refers to exercise self-control, to control ourselves before emotions drag us to where we know we do not want to go. Also to take advantage of our moods, or to know how to behave in a disadvantageous situation without losing our temper.

Motivation:It is related to our ability to not be distracted by immediate gratifications or get depressed by the obstacles that arise, but to maintain the focus of energy on the goal or objective that we propose. If we are convinced that