If you can pinpoint the exact emotion you’re feeling, or if you can easily read the emotions of others, you may be emotionally intelligent. People who have a high level of emotional intelligence (EI) can manage their emotions in a productive and healthy way. Here are seven bad habits to avoid when trying to become more emotionally intelligent.
1. Ignoring Your Emotional Reactions
Many of us are so busy with meetings, deadlines, and other demands that we sometimes brush off the emotions we feel about particular events or situations. Our emotions can give us valuable insight into the situation at hand. Hiring a virtual receptionist can give you the extra time you might need to listen to and trust your emotions.
2. Blaming Others for Your Feelings and Behavior
Fortunately, none of us are on puppet strings being controlled by the people around us. However, when someone says or does something that hurts us, we feel like they caused us to feel a certain way or react a certain way. Once you take responsibility for your feelings and actions, your life will be positively impacted.
3. Refusing to Empathize with Others
Your EI will improve greatly when you take the time to understand why someone feels a certain way and communicate that to them.
4. Judging Others and Yourself Critically
Judging others just makes you feel superior to them and does nothing for your EI. Restraining from making negative comments can boost your EI.
5. Panicking Under Pressure
Rather than blowing up or freaking out, take a minute to calm yourself and work to find a solution to the problem at hand. Help avoid the pressure that may cause panicking in the first place by hiring a virtual receptionist to take some of your daily responsibilities off of your hands.
6. Allowing Negative Emotions
An important part of increasing your EI is changing your perspective on situations that may typically give you negative emotions. Don’t personalize other people’s behaviors. This will help you avoid misunderstandings.
7. Ignoring Your Body
Our minds and bodies are connected, and our emotional responses often manifest themselves physically, too. You can improve your EI by paying attention to how certain emotions make you feel physically. For example, stress can give you a knot in your stomach or shoulder pain.
By adjusting these seven bad habits, you will be well on your way to improving your emotional intelligence. Hire a virtual receptionist from gabbyville.com to give you the extra time during the day you need to focus on how you are feeling.
