Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence has certainly opened a lot of eyes in the area of human intelligence. There was a time when people thought that anything to do with emotional expression was a contradiction to rational thought.
But now thanks to Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence is earning a rightful place in the ongoing debates about what constitutes human intelligence.
Now it seems, people all over the world and not just the self help crowd are beginning to think less about thoughts and more about feelings.
“Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman may at first appear to look like any one of the average, nicely covered, self-help book that flood the market. This is especially the case when you read the part about how to be more effective at work and get that promotion you so desire. This just seems to be a ploy to attract people with the prospect of making more money.
However, the concepts presented in this book accomplish so much more than your average get rich quick book lining the shelves of your local book store. Daniel Goleman’s “Emotional Intelligence” asserts that a person’s ability to cope with emotions – both a person’s own and others, determines his/her life as much if not more than his/her IQ does.
Like I said it’s a real eye opener
The value that we place on the so-called rational thought is called into question. We used to believe that the only way to arrive at the correct decision in life is to think out solutions without the disruption of our emotions. We used to consider emotions as the bane of rational thought.
An expression of emotion has always been seen as a weakness not a sign of strength by any stretch of the imagination. However, because of Daniel Goleman’s “Emotional Intelligence”, we have shifted our perception and people are now beginning to understood the need to include our emotions when making our decisions in both our personal and professional lives.
One assertion that Goleman makes is the fact that emotional intelligence is not fixed from birth. It can be gained, nurtured and lost during the course of one’s life. This is mostly due to the fact that emotional intelligence mainly comes from a person’s experiences in life.
And as people have observed, this is actually quite true. A person’s ability to cope with emotions is determined by the different emotional situations that he or she has faced in life which of course changes on a daily basis.
In Daniel Goleman’s “Emotional Intelligence” he discusses several abilities that are essential to living that can be attributed to emotional intelligence such as:
Self-Awareness –
This is the ability of a person to truly asses their own self which really isn’t such an easy task. Many people don’t realize that often times people are blind to their own shortcomings. A person with the proper emotional intelligence won’t be blinded by emotions, but instead will be able to discern their emotions from their thoughts.
Impulse Control –
A person’s emotional intelligence determines their ability to control impulsive actions. By having proper emotional intelligence, a person can control the feelings that cause these impulsive decisions and think things through clearly.
Sociability –
A person’s ability to interact socially is also highly affected by their emotional intelligence. This is because of the fact that emotional intelligence doesn’t just involve a person’s own emotions, it also involves understanding the emotions of other people. We all know how important social interaction can be in life. A person with effective emotional intelligence can get ahead just by knowing the right people.
Daniel Goleman’s “Emotional intelligence” is a work designed to change the viewpoint of humanity. It does appear to be a backdrop for a get-rich-quick scheme at some points, but it does make some very valid arguments.
It shows us just how much damage we have caused to our lives by pointedly ignoring the value of our emotions over the years. Hopefully, this concept of emotional intelligence presented in this book is just the first step to truly changing our lives.