Obviously, intelligence is very important. It’s what drives us to achieve success; it pushes us forward. But there are two sides of the coin when it comes to that word—intellect and emotion. You need a balance of both if you want to succeed in life.
Fortunately for you, we’re going to show you 9 signs that prove you are emotionally intelligent:
1. You make people around feel better after spending time with them.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but if your friends think highly of you then it probably means that they enjoy being around you!
Your positivity will rub off on them and their environment will be more positive because of it, which indirectly makes them feel relaxed and comfortable at all times.
2. You’re aware of your feelings and those of others.
Emotionally intelligent individuals are more aware of their feelings as well as the feelings of others around them; they accept both good and bad emotions.
They also know when to act on or react to certain situations, which results in better decision-making.
We can conclude that truly empathetic people are able to recognize other people’s emotions and respond accordingly, which is quite an amazing thing in itself!
It means that you have a great understanding of other individuals’ perspectives and state of mind, even if it differs from your own way of thinking.
And we all know how important it is to be able to see things from different angles!
3. You’re always looking for ways to improve yourself.
This isn’t just something we assume; there is science behind why emotionally intelligent people work on improving themselves constantly.
It has been proven that those who are more aware of their emotions not only know how to handle them but also use them to achieve success.
To put it simply, emotionally intelligent people are better at motivating themselves because they want to do something for the benefit of others and in turn make everyone around them happy.
True leaders are always looking for ways to improve themselves; you can’t make others progress if you’re stuck on an old strategy that hasn’t proven successful yet!
4. You tend to feel empathy over sympathy.
This is a fine line between emotional intelligence and selfishness, so we’ll give some examples as clarification: if one of your friends tells you that they’ve gotten into a fight with their significant other, would you find yourself being sympathetic toward them or would you feel empathy?
Emotional intelligence is linked with the ability to take on board someone else’s feelings and perspective. Sympathy, on the other hand, seems to be rooted in more of a superficial feeling where you don’t really try to understand the other person’s view.
While it might seem like after hearing your friend complain about their relationship that you’re being sympathetic toward them, chances are when they see you care for them, they’ll start feeling better by understanding your support.
Now if what they told you was something along the lines of how much work you have and how stressed out they are because of it, let’s be honest—you’d probably find yourself being somewhat indifferent… or maybe even slightly annoyed! This actually goes to show that you’re not a very emotional person.
5. You don’t allow bad things to drag you down too much.
Emotionally intelligent people have the ability to shrug off setbacks and move on pretty quickly, which they do by understanding them better so that they can learn from them in the future.
They also know how important it is to stay positive! While nobody likes feeling sad or disappointed, those who understand emotions are able to realize what led them there and make necessary changes in their thoughts for it not to happen again.
This way they’ll be properly equipped for dealing with bad situations in the future, and will actually come out of all this stronger than before!
6. You’re aware of your strengths and weaknesses.
This is a very important attribute not only when it comes to your emotional intelligence but also in life in general!
It’s good to take time out of your day and reflect on what you’re better at or what needs improvement.
If there are certain things that you know you’ll never be the best at, acknowledge them and channel all your energy into improving other parts of yourself instead of wasting precious time on something that will never give you satisfaction in the first place.
This will not only help to improve yourself as a person but also lead those who are close to you toward believing you’re an exceptional human being! Now, isn’t this reason enough to work on improving your emotional intelligence?
Also, when it comes to recognizing people whom you are close to, don’t forget that we all have different perceptions of people.
It’s important not to apply your standards and expectations to others when trying to understand their emotions.
One major reason for this is because everyone has different backgrounds and cultures; this can affect how they communicate with each other as well as interpret information.
7. You’re an optimist.
As someone who understands emotions, being able to stay optimistic during the most difficult of times is definitely something that will get you through it!
Emotionally intelligent people know what it takes to keep going even if it seems like there’s no hope in sight—not only do they believe in themselves but they also find reasons “why”.
There’s always a positive side to any negative experience, and it’s up to us how we choose to deal with these situations in order for them not to affect our overall well-being.
8. You’re an excellent communicator.
To be able to understand emotions, you need a strong skill set when it comes to being able to communicate effectively as well as listen actively.
These allow you access into someone else’s emotional state so that you may better understand their feelings and perspective on certain things.
The best thing about this is—you can learn how to become more effective at communicating!
There are tons of books out there that will teach you the secrets of communication, as well as classes or workshops which can help you too.
There are even some websites online that teach and help people improve their communication skills.
Communication is the key to unlocking a person’s heart, which can be an extremely powerful tool in life!
9. You’re able to trust your instincts.
Knowing what feels good and bad at any given moment is definitely something that comes only with higher emotional intelligence.
Most of us tend to listen to others’ point-of-view before we make our own decision, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but sometimes it’s okay if you don’t take other people’s advice for granted!
Take a step back and think about how you feel when someone tells you something—what does your gut tell you? This way, instead of being influenced by everyone around you, you’ll know better who to trust and who to listen to.
Also, it’s important that you recognize your personal strengths when it comes to making decisions. For example, if there are so many mixed opinions about something on the table, maybe it’s best if you trust your own instincts as opposed to doing what everyone else thinks is right.
If you’ve read this far, we hope that it has been an enlightening experience!
We wanted to take the time to share these 9 signs of emotional intelligence in order for us all to be better equipped with understanding our own emotions as well as those around us.
It can be a difficult process at times but when you get back on your feet and try again—you will find yourself much wiser than before.