
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize our own and other people’s feelings, to motivate ourselves and to maintain social relationships in a correct way. Working on emotional intelligence is key because it will improve our mental health and social development.
Also, having good emotional intelligence makes the difference between socially acceptable behavior or being out of place in certain situations.
From there, do we know how to detect and work on emotional intelligence? How do we promote it in Casvi International American School?
It is important to know the state of our emotional intelligence. Therefore, we should check how we react to different situations:
1. Think about our reactions. When facing an argument, if you have good emotional intelligence, the best reaction would be not to take it personally. However, people who lack good emotional intelligence tend to react abruptly without thinking about the possible consequences.
2. See situations as a challenge. Facing complicated situations and negative emotions as a challenge, keeping the positive in mind, shows a high emotional intelligence.
3. Modify emotions. There are times when it is difficult to manage emotions and we can get carried away by them, but if we have worked emotional intelligence is quite likely to have the necessary tools for that does not happen.
4. Putting ourselves in the other person’s place. Good empathy is also a sign of high levels of emotional intelligence.
Having a low emotional intelligence should not worry us, since it is something we can work on to improve it. It is an innate cognitive competence of people and, as we said, can be improved by following some guidelines.
1. Keep a diary of emotions to keep a record of everything you feel. Identifying the feelings that were experienced will help to release all the situations of the day and to learn to recognize those emotions.
2. Meditate. This practice is good for learning to relax and control emotions.
3. Read books on emotional intelligence. They are of great help. It can also be beneficial to join workshops where the subject is worked on.
4. Express emotions and share them with the people around us. It is important not to repress what we feel.
Emotional intelligence at Casvi International American School is worked on daily in the classes and in all educational stages. We know that the acquisition of these emotional competencies helps children to prepare themselves for life and, thanks to them, they can prevent certain dangers. The methodology of the International Baccalaureate (PYP, MYP and PD) is also fundamental to achieve this.