Peer to Peer Magazine

41 WWW.ILTANET.ORG Self-Awareness Self-awareness is your ability to accurately perceive your own emotions in the moment and understand your tendencies across situations. We are human. We all have emotions; they serve a purpose. They are your reactions to the world around you. But geing in touch with your emotional self is sometimes uncomfortable, as it means you could see a side of yourself that you really don't want to own up to. However, if you don't, your emotions have a strange way of resurfacing when you least expect or want them to. Self-awareness is a foundational skill. When you have it, it makes other emotional intelligence skills much easier to use. Here are tips to improve your self-awareness skills: » Know Who and What Pushes Your Buons: Tap into who or what triggers your emotions. Is it a certain person, particular situations or conditions? Be specific. » Learn How You React to Stress: When approaching the point of burnout, how are you reacting? Do you shut down? Do you strike out? Do you get snarky, irritable or cranky? The goal is to learn about how you respond. » Identify Why You React the Way You Do: Ask yourself "Why do I get so angry when….?" Do I have this reaction with everyone or only certain people?" By digging in, you could discover the source and eliminate a trigger or two. Defining Emotional Intelligence My favorite definition for "emotional intelligence" comes from Travis Bradberry, author of "Emotional Intelligence 2.0" and creator of the Emotional Intelligence Appraisal. Emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships. Your EIQ is distinct from your intellect. There is no known connection between IQ and EIQ. You can't predict someone's emotional intelligence based on how smart they are. Your IQ is your ability to learn. It is oen assessed or tested in schools and is relatively the same at 16 as it is at 60. Personality is the "style" that defines each of us. Some of us are introverts while others are extroverts. Common tools for assessing your personality type include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, DiSC Assessment and The PeopleMap Questionnaire. Personality traits appear early in life, and they don't go away. You are who you are. But unlike personality styles and IQ scores, you can make positive changes that will cause your EIQ score to get beer. If you choose to. Why should we care? Studies have shown that people with high emotional IQs are beer performers and make more money. They have beer relationships –– both professionally and personally –– stronger marriages and friendships that last longer. High EIQ is also credited with higher life satisfaction and well-being. People with high EIQs are healthier and happier. What can you do to improve your EIQ? Bradberry identifies four EIQ skills that make up your emotional intelligence. Self-awareness and self-management are all about you and fall into the area of personal competence. Social awareness and relationship management are more about how you are with other people, making up your social competence. What's Your Emotional IQ? FEATURES CHAR NIEMI Char Niemi, professional career and life coach, has the unique ability to recognize the given talents, gifts and strengths in people and to ignite the spark that drives them to make positive change in their lives. Her coaching programs are powerful and life-altering. Char's clients are re- energized, focused and ready to take action to achieve the goals that will move their lives and careers forward. Contact her at char@charniemi.com. What I See What I Do Personal Competence Self-Awareness Self-Management Social Competence Social Awareness Relationship Management You don't have to agree with the way people are feeling, but recognize those feelings as legitimate and respect them.

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