Emotional Intelligence, according to Bar-on, Maree & Elias (2007), is the ability of a human to understand and express themselves, to understand and relate well to others, and to successfully cope with the demands of daily life.

This is based on the ability to recognize and manage your own emotions, to understand your strengths and challenges, as well as express your feelings non-destructively. In addition, it is the ability to be aware of the needs and feelings of others, and to be able to establish and maintain cooperative, constructive, and mutually satisfying relationships.

Ultimately, emotionally intelligent people are effectively able to manage personal, social, and environmental change by realistically and flexibly coping with the immediate situation and solving problems of an interpersonal nature.

Emotional intelligence directly relates to how you manage your life and deal with all of its important aspects. You are unique in who you are and how you learn. Becoming emotionally intelligent is a life long process that can keep you happy and healthy. That is why it is said that developing emotional intelligence skills is a “work in progress” (Nelson & Low, 2003).

As you learn more about how your emotional mind works, you will begin to view personal behavior as what you do rather than how you are.