9 Impressive Traits Of People Who Have Unusually High Emotional Intelligence
Do you have a high EQ?
Alex Vog / Shutterstock Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, control, and gauge the emotions and feelings of yourself and others.
Having emotional intelligence means that you are capable of assessing every situation from an agile point of view in order to act accordingly. You aren’t overthrown by your thoughts and emotions because you’re in complete control of them.
Not sure if you have high emotional intelligence? The goods news is that if any of these traits describe you, you are completely in control of your feelings and are an emotionally intelligent person.
Here are 9 personality traits of people with unusually high emotional intelligence.
1. They're self-aware.
People with emotional intelligence are able to perceive their emotions as they come without becoming easily overwhelmed. They aren't ruled by their anger or sadness or any emotion in between; rather, they acknowledge the way they feel without spiraling into a negative mess.
If you have self-awareness, you know how to channel those emotions in a positive manner instead of letting them become destructive.
2. They know their strengths and weaknesses.
Emotionally intelligent people are aware of what their strengths and weaknesses are.
Their weaknesses aren’t an issue because they know how to accentuate their strengths to the fullest extent. They recognize what it is they need to work on for the future, but also know that their weaknesses do not make them weak.
When you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses, and don't let them define you, you instead respond well to constructive feedback and use it to motivate yourself to do better next time.
3. They choose wisely with what they react to.
People with high emotional intelligence are extremely picky with what they put time and effort into. They don’t like to waste your time or emotional energy on situations beyond their control.
An emotionally intelligent person recognizes that every situation doesn’t deserve a reaction. So when they realize a certain situation isn't quite going their way, but they don't want to expend any thought or energy on it, they don't react outwardly.
4. They're skilled at active listening.
Individuals with high emotional intelligence can effortlessly adapt to their surroundings and read emotions in order to better understand a situation.
They know there’s a major difference between “listening” and “hearing.” As such, they listen for the ability to understand and empathize, rather than listen to come up with a response or some kind of resolution.
5. They're self-motivated.
Their goals are important to them because they have built a foundation of motivation within themselves. They are well aware that the road to success takes time — and they are more than okay with that.
Because of their ambition and drive, they feel a sense of personal growth daily and strongly believe that the only way to fail is by giving up.
6. They're capable of figuring out why they're upset.
An emotionally intelligent person can easily figure out what is bothering them. They do the inner work to recognize the specific emotion their feeling, and then pinpoint the reasoning behind it.
They are in tune with their deepest emotions and know how to eliminate the urge for negative-self talk. They are constantly exploring their inner-most feelings and picking apart their brains.
7. They have made peace with the past.
They use the past as motivation to create a bright future, despite what they may have gone through. They don’t let their past failures consume them with negativity. Instead, they use it as a guideline in order to never make the same mistakes again.
This also means they aren't hanging onto resentment and have given themselves a chance to heal after someone has wronged them. They are quick to move on from whatever challenges they have experiences.
8. They're able to read people like a book.
Emotionally intelligent people have a sort of "sixth sense" about them. They are always fully aware of body movements, hand gestures, and facial expressions while engaging in conversation.
It doesn’t take long for them to translate how someone is feeling just by simply examining their body language. They don't pull any offending party moves because they know how to read a room, as well as the people in it.
9. They don’t act impulsively.
They aren’t impulse-driven and like to give things thought before acting on them. They know that impulsive behavior usually doesn’t end well and can easily be avoided by taking time to assess the situation at hand.
As such, they never speak or act without thinking first. And it's saved them in more ways than one.
Andrea Davis is a freelance writer, photographer, and social media influencer. Her bylines have appeared on Thought Catalog, The Trek, and The Villages Daily Sun, where she covers lifestyle, health, fitness, and relationship topics.
