8 daily habits to strengthen emotional intelligence

Why should we strengthen our emotional intelligence? Perhaps the reason for this is to take control of our lives. In general, there are three things we can control in life: our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions, with emotions being the most important as they guide and direct our thoughts and behaviors. In fact, about 80% or more of our decisions and actions stem from our emotions. Although emotions are the hardest part to control, as we have the least direct influence over them.

Taking control of our emotions requires developing and strengthening our emotional intelligence, which is the ability to be aware of and manage our emotions. By following the daily habits outlined in this article, you can improve your emotional intelligence skills and have more control over yourself and your life.

1.Express your emotions with delay.

Have you ever experienced a strong reaction in a pressured situation that you later regretted and wished you could go back in time? How about saying something in the heat of the moment and then feeling remorseful afterwards? Whether these momentary reactions are rare occurrences or things you experience repeatedly in your life, there are many benefits to delaying the expression of your emotions.

But first, let's talk about how the mind works and its two systems of thinking. The automatic system responds to our emotions and intuitions, while the deliberate system reflects our logical thinking. Since the deliberate system is slower, it requires more time to activate and reflect on the errors made by the automatic system. To address this issue, you need to develop a habit of counting to ten before acting or making decisions based on your emotions. This activates the deliberate system and allows for the examination of emotions before expressing them. Understanding how these two systems work and taking a little time before reacting can give you more control over your emotions.

2.Journaling

Writing down thoughts and feelings regularly is very beneficial for enhancing emotional intelligence. Journaling also acts as a self-care method that improves creativity and self-awareness. Although there is no exact rule for journaling, make it a daily habit that you do every day. Create a morning or afternoon journaling activity that includes three habits related to emotional intelligence:

1.Write about yourself and your feelings in the moment during journaling.

2.Write about something you learned from your emotions in the past day in your journal.

3.Write about a place where you want to focus on improving your emotional intelligence over time, including the ability to recognize and manage emotions.

4.Remember that the key point is to start and continue the practice. Make the work simple by choosing a simple journaling method. You can write by hand, type, use a voice recorder, or choose a journaling app.

Review what you have written in your journal regularly while starting to practice the habits introduced in this article. This is an excellent way to examine previous obstacles and measure your progress.

3.Practice Meditation

Meditation is another method for enhancing emotional intelligence and can create new neural pathways to help manage stress and emotions. Specifically, meditation can help individuals who struggle with traditional emotional standards and have difficulty expressing their emotions. Studies have

also shown that meditation can help those who cannot constructively deal with their emotions.

Two types of meditation are recommended:

• Ten minutes of Mindfulness or Zazen Meditation: The aim of this type of meditation is to clear and calm the mind. Sit cross-legged, breathe in and empty your mind, trying not to think about anything. Zazen meditation can help you to have more concentration and focus on emotions.
• Five minutes of Loving-Kindness Meditation: This type of meditation can help manage emotions towards others and can enrich and positive emotions. By practicing this meditation, you can strengthen your relationships and positive feelings towards your loved ones. This can be done by visualizing the people in your life, focusing on them, and sending and receiving love and kindness to and from them.

4.Do Yoga

You've probably heard a lot about the health benefits of yoga, but in this article, we want to focus on its impact on emotional intelligence. Practicing yoga teaches individuals to be present in the moment, encourages self-awareness, and ultimately helps make it easier to recognize emotions. Emotions often manifest themselves physically and bodily, so awareness of the body contributes to greater awareness of emotions, which helps to distinguish between emotions and manage them better. Try to include at least 15 minutes of yoga in your daily routine.

5.Regularly identify cognitive biases

Our emotions often lead us in the wrong direction due to cognitive biases, which are dangerous judgments that can result in poor decision making in our personal and professional lives. To avoid these troublesome blind spots, you need to evaluate and learn about the areas that are relevant to you. Then, establish a daily routine to overcome the cognitive biases that have the greatest impact.

The four primary habits we described are the best opportunities for identifying and dealing with these biases. For example, you can use journaling to write down how to overcome them.

6.Relationship with others

Despite the fact that the first five habits on this list provide opportunities for self-reflection, evaluation, and assessment, it is equally important to consider how to relate to others. After practicing the fifth habit, you will realize how many cognitive biases you have in your relationships with others. To better manage these emotions, have a daily habit of evaluating your feelings when interacting with others.

Wait, reflect, and identify what you can learn about yourself during these reactions. With the information you have learned about yourself, plan how to interact with others. Remember to delay expressing your feelings to others and first learn how to manage yourself effectively.

7.Develop active listening skills in yourself.

Many people listen without really hearing what is being said. This is especially true in discussions where people take a combative stance and instead of truly listening to others, they spend their time formulating their responses in their minds. Without proper listening skills, no emotional intelligence can be developed or utilized and many arguments remain unresolved.

When speaking with others, actively listen instead of just thinking about your next point or waiting for your turn to speak. Additionally, to ensure a good understanding of the topics being discussed, listen well. Active listening helps you determine how to contribute to problem-solving during conflicts and discussions. This is because it gives you the necessary time to identify all the ambiguous points. It also engages your emotional intelligence to help you use an appropriate response.

8.Use a assertive and collaborative communication style.

Remember everything you have learned about yourself, your orientations, and how to respond to others. Then develop a habit of being assertive, not aggressive or overly straightforward, during conversations and discussions. This allows you to express your opinions more clearly and also encourages others to have more transparent conversations with you.

In the end, it doesn't matter why you want to strengthen your emotional intelligence, as you will benefit from the effort to do so. Developing these daily habits is the key to developing and strengthening emotional intelligence and having control over your life. Although the learning cycle of each individual is different, anyone can learn and master these habits. Just practice a little to see their impact on different aspects of your life.