How can you develop your emotional intelligence and empathy skills with positive psychology techniques?
Do you want to have a positive impact on the people around you? Whether you are a leader, a team member, a friend, or a family member, you can use positive psychology techniques to improve your emotional intelligence and empathy skills. Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes people thrive and flourish. It focuses on the strengths, values, and virtues that help people cope with challenges, build relationships, and achieve goals. In this article, you will learn how to apply some of the core principles and practices of positive psychology to influence others in a positive way.
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Jenny Jing ZhuFounder, Chairwoman of the Board @LushDecorHome | Upcoming Author of "Dream Weaver" a journey of defying the odds…
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Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions and those of others. It involves four main skills: self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, and social skills. EI is essential for effective communication, collaboration, and leadership. People with high EI can empathize with others, adapt to different situations, and resolve conflicts constructively. They can also inspire, motivate, and persuade others to achieve common goals.
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To me, EQ is more important than IQ. Emotional intelligence means recognizing, understanding, and managing our own emotions and being aware of others' emotions. It's a skill to avoid letting your emotions get the best of any situation - crucial in business and entrepreneurship.
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Desarrollar habilidades de inteligencia emocional y empatía es fundamental para mejorar las relaciones interpersonales y el bienestar personal. La psicología positiva, con su enfoque en potenciar las cualidades y emociones positivas, ofrece varias técnicas para fomentar estas habilidades: Practica la reflexión regular para entender tus propias emociones. Aprende técnicas de regulación emocional, como la respiración profunda, la meditación o el yoga, para manejar eficazmente tus emociones. Practica la gratitud. Intenta ponerte en el lugar de los demás activamente. Escucha atentamente y trata de entender sus sentimientos y perspectivas. Practica la escucha activa en tus conversaciones.
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Emotional intelligence is existential in nature and is thus unrelated to the intellect. The degree to which we can exercise emotional intelligence depends on the degree to which we can comprehend life in the existential context. Paying attention to life is the key to exercising emotional intelligence.
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EI is not just talking about feelings, or being nice all the time, or never experiencing negative emotions!! You need to be able to : 1. Know and identify what you are feeling 2. Why you are feeling that way 3. How to manage your reactions to situations that make you feel a certain way 4. How to identify other's motivations, feelings and drivers 5. How to empathise and correctly evaluate other's emotions 6. How to respond in social contexts and react in a mature way with others 7. How to help, empathise, motivate & persuade others.
Empathy is the ability to share and comprehend the feelings and perspectives of others. It is a key component of social awareness and social skills. Empathy helps you to build rapport, trust, and mutual understanding with others. It also enables you to recognize and respond to the needs and emotions of others. Empathy can be divided into two types: cognitive empathy and emotional empathy. Cognitive empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and understand their thoughts and beliefs. Emotional empathy is the ability to feel what someone else is feeling and share their emotions.
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Empathy is putting yourself in someone else's shoes, feeling what they're feeling, and understanding their problem. It's an unspoken connection with others where you can pick up on and understand their emotions, even without them saying a word.
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Realizing ourselves as fibers, woven into the singular fabric of life, is the key to developing empathy. This realization can only arise after paying some attention to life. The awareness which then emerges, allows us to not only find our place in life, but to accept the place in life of others as well.
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Here are two great techniques and exercises to learn to become more empathetic: 1. Perspective-taking exercises: I give clients a situation and ask them to imagine themselves in the other person's shoes, how would they think, feel and act? What are the reasons someone might be acting a certain way. 2. Storytelling: Give them a certain story and asking them to come up with different motivations as to what the situation was and why did someone act the way they did. Encourage active listening and empathy as participants share their stories and connect with each other's experiences.
Gratitude is a powerful emotion that can increase your happiness, well-being, and relationships, as well as enhance your emotional intelligence and empathy. To practice gratitude, consider keeping a gratitude journal and writing down three things you are thankful for each day. Additionally, take the opportunity to express your appreciation to someone who has helped you or made your day better. You could write a thank-you letter or note and deliver it personally or by mail. Finally, before going to sleep, reflect on the positive things that happened during the day.
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My favorite way to practice gratitude is journaling first thing in the morning. Penning down what I'm grateful for shifts my focus from what's missing to what's abundant. The best way to do it? Speak up! Whether it's a simple 'thank you' or a heartfelt message to a friend, expressing gratitude strengthens your relationships and well-being.
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Start a daily gratitude journal to reflect on what you are thankful for. Engage in random acts of kindness to cultivate empathy. Use positive psychology techniques like focusing on the good in others and expressing appreciation regularly. Practice active listening to understand others' perspectives better. Reflect on how gratitude impacts your emotions and relationships. By fostering gratitude, you can enhance empathy skills and emotional intelligence, leading to more meaningful connections and a positive outlook on life.
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Bring your hands together in the prayer/yoga position. Now, with your hands, send out a feeling of gratitude to all that is! The universe will respond in kind. Stay Blessed!
Affirmations are positive statements that can reinforce self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth. They can help you overcome limiting thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, as well as assist in achieving goals and aspirations by aligning thoughts, actions, and emotions with desired outcomes. To use affirmations effectively, choose statements that are relevant and meaningful to you. Write them down or say them out loud in the present tense and in the first person. Repeat them daily, preferably in the morning or before a challenging situation. Visualize yourself already having achieved what you affirm and feel the positive emotions that come with your affirmations.
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Affirmations are essentially sounds, organized in a desired manner. To use affirmations effectively, we must first realize that the material world is made up of sound. Sound, when raised to a high enough frequency, manifests as heat & light. Now think about the best thing that you can possibly say for your own wellbeing and for the wellbeing of those around you. Now, say it to the emptiness which pervades all!
Feedback is a useful source of information for learning, improvement, and growth. It can also help others recognize their strengths, weaknesses, and areas of development. Feedback should be constructive, specific, and timely - both positive and negative. To offer feedback effectively, try using this formula: begin with a positive statement that acknowledges the person's success or what you appreciate about them; continue with a constructive statement that points out what they can do better or what needs to be changed; and end with a supportive remark that encourages the person to take action or offers your assistance.
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5 tips for delivering effective feedback -Ask permission first -Share as objectively as possible by focusing on behaviors -Share the impact of their behavior -Express a growth mindset & that you can about the relationship/them and believe they can improve -Be open to hearing their side
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A few things that help with feedback: 1. Focus on Behavior, Not Personality: Critique actions, decisions, or behaviors rather than making judgments about character or personality. 2. Focus on Actionable Steps: Offer suggestions for how they can improve, what actionable steps they could take and what resources they could use. 3. Encourage Two-Way Communication: Create an open dialogue where questions can be asked, and where they can seek clarification or share their perspective. This promotes understanding and engagement.
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Before giving feedback, one must carefully and realistically assess the abilities of the person in question. No amount of feedback can produce an outcome if the person in question is incapable of producing it.
Questions are an effective way to influence others by engaging them in conversation, showing interest and respect, and gathering their opinions, ideas, and feedback. Additionally, asking questions can help you improve your EI and empathy skills by broadening your knowledge, perspective, and understanding of others. To ask questions effectively, you should use open-ended questions that invite more than a yes or no answer; follow-up questions that probe deeper into the topic; reflective questions that paraphrase what the person said; and appreciative questions that emphasize the positive aspects of the situation or the person's accomplishments.
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Great questions tend to have a few key elements. They are open-ended, non-judgemental, and the aim is understanding. It does depend on the context for what question you should ask. But some of the best questions at work start with "What" rather than "Why." For example instead of saying, "Why didn’t you submit the project to our client at 5pm?" You would instead ask, "What held up the project?" Questions that start with why tend to spark defensiveness where questions that start with what put the focus on the challenge rather than the person.
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