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EQ IS BETTER THAN IQ

Conventional wisdom has it that there is a direct connection between our IQ and our ability to succeed in life. In school, we are ranked by our GPA. At certain points in grade school, students are given standardized test that ranks them with other students around the country. Schools are obsessed with how their students rank compared with others. A requirement for most colleges is a satisfactory score on the SAT or ACT exam. These tests are basic IQ test, designed to test our math and reading comprehension. But there have been many studies that show IQ only accounts for about 20% of our success. The major attributes of success are our social and emotional intelligence. Yet there is very little emphasis put on emotional intelligence. Only a handful of schools have any formal programs that address emotional intelligence. In his book Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman says, "People with welldeveloped emotional skills are also more likely to be content and effective in their lives, mastering the habits of the mind that foster their own productivity; people who cannot marshal some control over their emotional life fight battles that sabotage their ability for focused work and clear thought." We have an emotional mind and a rational mind. In large part, our emotional mind developed to help us survive. When man first wandered the earth anytime he encountered some new experience, he needed to make instant decisions about whether the encounter involved something that he could eat or something that might try and eat him. To rely on the rational mind, which works much slower than the emotional mind, might have meant the end of mankind. The emotional mind springs into action much quicker than the rational mind. But unless we learn to control the emotional mind, we will make lots of bad decisions and poor choices. Our emotional intelligence has such a large impact on our success in life, it is important that we fully develop our emotional skills. Here are the top five reasons why your emotional intelligence determines your success in life.

1. Overall impact on success. It has been said that your IQ can land you a job but your lack of EQ can get you fired. Your IQ only accounts for 20% of your success in life. Your emotional intelligence and social intelligence are much greater determinants of the success you will achieve in life. 2. Delayed gratification. Delayed gratification is the top predictor of future success. People who are able to pay the price today and delay the rewards are much more likely to succeed in life. Unfortunately we have become a nation seeking instant gratification. This shows up in our everyday lives in the foods we choose to eat, the buy now pay later way of life, our inability to follow an exercise regime and putting mindless entertainment ahead of self-development. 3. Our relationships with others Our emotional skills have a direct and important bearing on our relationships with others. We need to understand our feelings, where they come from and how to properly express them. We will not maintain healthy relationships unless we can control our emotions, communicate our feelings in a constructive manner and understand the feelings of others. 4. Impact on our health There is a direct connection between our emotional health and our physical health. If our lives are filled with stress, our physical health suffers. It has been estimated that well over 80% of our health problems are stress related. We experience stress primarily because we are not comfortable emotionally. We need to understand the link between our emotional health and our physical health. 5. The connection between poor EQ and rising crime Unfortunately there is a direct connection between poor emotional skills and the rising crime rate. Children who have poor emotional skills become social outcast at a very young age. They might be the class bully because of a hot temper. They have learned to react with their fist rather than reason. Poor social and emotional skills contribute to poor attention in

class and feelings of frustration. They rapidly fall behind and make friends with others in the same boat. There is a direct path to crime that starts early in life. While there is no doubt that family and environment are great contributors, the common thread is poor emotional and social skills. The direct result of poor training in emotional skills. This is one case where an ounce of prevention would certainly be worth a pound of cure. The cost of intervention when a child is in grade school is minor compared to the cost to jail them in their teens and twenties. So how do we develop emotional intelligence? We need to know our emotions. We need to develop self-awareness - to be able to recognize feelings as they happen. We must learn how to manage our emotions. Unless we learn to manage our emotions we will constantly be battling feelings of gloom and distress. We must learn to motivate ourselves. Learn to emotional self-control - to delay gratification. If we are to succeed in life, we need to learn to recognize emotions in others. We need to develop empathy. We need to be attuned to what others want or need. And we need to develop our emotional intelligence so we are capable of healthy relationships. or IQ, you can find information on both It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." - Charles Darwin Apparent in many aspects of human interaction is the notion of "survival of the fittest." In business, government, science, and even personal relationships, the competition for that which is scarce drives humans to find an "edge" over their adversaries. A good indicator of success in the past has been the level of one's intelligence. It was assumed that the relationship between one's IQ and one's success would be positively correlated. In other words, "smarter" individuals were bound to triumph over those less intelligent.

However, what about "book smarts vs. street smarts?" Can an individual with an average IQ be more successful than an IQ genius? Yes, but only if the individual in question has the higher level of emotional intelligence (EQ); IQ will get you through school, but EQ gets you through life. Short Definitions IQ - A number that signifies the relative intelligence of a person; the ratio multiplied by 100 of the mental age as reported on a standardized test to the chronological age. IQ is primarily used to measure one's cognitive abilities, such as the ability to learn or understand new situations; how to reason through a given problem/scenario; the ability to apply knowledge to one's current situations. It involves primarily the neo cortex or top portion of the brain.

Over 140 - Genius or almost genius 120 - 140 - Very superior intelligence (Gifted) 110 - 119 - Superior intelligence 90 - 109 - Average or normal intelligence 80 - 89 - Dullness 70 - 79 - Borderline deficiency in intelligence Under 70 - Feeble-mindedness

EQ - A measure of one's emotional intelligence, as defined by the ability to use both emotional and cognitive thought. Emotional intelligence skills include but are not limited to empathy, intuition, creativity, flexibility, resilience, stress management, leadership, integrity, authenticity, intrapersonal skills and interpersonal skills. It involves the lower and central sections of the brain, called the limbic system. It also primarily involves the amygdala, which has the ability to scan everything that's happening to us moment to moment to see if it is a threat. As defined by Dr. Daniel Goleman, the components of emotional intelligence are "simple, yet powerful enough to effect change." Hence, if

Goleman and Darwin are to believed, it is emotionally intelligent individuals who are most able to adapt to dynamic environments and therefore most likely to survive . Examples by comparison of EQ vs. IQ

Appealing to emotions to convince someone rather than using facts alone Using your emotions in addition to your cognitive abilities to function rather than

relying solely on logic


Knowing how and why vs. Knowing what Knowing how to motivate separate individuals as opposed to treating everyone the

same way

Understanding and controlling your emotions to use them for something vs. Letting

your emotions control you because you do not know how to deal with them. CONCLUSION: To be successful and survive in today's society, individuals need to have the necessary communication and organizational skills to make sound decisions and interact with each other. Goleman argues that an individual's success at work is 80 percent dependent on emotional quotient and only 20 percent dependent on intelligence quotient. This is because EQ components are useful in assisting employees with decision-making in areas like teamwork, inclusion, productivity, and communication. Furthermore, good listening habits and skills are integral components of EQ, and carry the elements of self-awareness and control, empathy and social expertness. When a manager at AT&T Bell Labs was asked to rank his top performing engineers, high IQ was not the deciding factor, but instead how the person performed regarding the answering of e-mails, how good they were at collaborating and networking with colleagues, and their popularity with others in order to achieve the cooperation required to attain the goals. This is just one example of the benefits of high EQ regarding communication skills, time management, teamwork, leadership skills and business acumen. After all, we've often heard of the "genius" with no personality, and the brilliant surgeon with a horrible bed-side manner.

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