5 Things Emotionally Intelligent People Do On A Regular Basis To Stay Even-Keeled, According To Psychology
How emotionally intelligent folks keep their balance no matter what life throws at them.
ALLAN LAINEZ | Unsplash Whether we like it or not, emotions govern and influence every single aspect of our lives. However, I learned just how important emotions can be during my time in school. Having the ability to connect with our emotions and stay even-keeled — no matter how chaotic life gets — helps us as individuals and helps with all of our relationships.
When thoughts arise, they generate emotions. These emotions, in turn, push us towards action. Unfortunately, most of us experience internal conflict because we don’t take the time to actually connect with our emotions.
5 things emotionally intelligent people do on a regular basis to stay even-keeled, according to psychology:
1. They journal
Have you ever written down your thoughts and feelings? Speaking from experience, putting a pen to paper and expressing your feelings can quickly help you shift your perspective. In fact, writing activates our minds and helps us reconnect with ourselves.
You can write down a situation, the emotions the situation caused you to feel, and the actionable steps you can take as a result. Give it a try, you never know what you might discover.
Researchers studied the effects of two journaling methods of stress or trauma intervention, "one focusing on emotional expression and the other on both cognitive processing and emotional expression." The study found that "writers focusing on cognitions and emotions developed greater awareness of the positive benefits of the stressful event than the other two groups," while "writers focusing on emotions alone reported more severe illness symptoms during the study than those in other conditions."
2. They take a non-judgmental stance
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Most of us identify with our emotions. However, it’s important to recognize that, although we feel emotions, we’re not just our emotions.
Instead of judging yourself based on your feelings, think about them as passing clouds. Observe them without judging them, and you’ll be able to tap into an incredible perspective.
Observing your emotions requires the downtime to do it, according to research on stress recovery. The study showed the importance of downtime whenever people "recognize their need for recovery and respond by entering a state of physical relaxation and psychological detachment from stressors."
3. They channel emotions into positive outcomes
Every emotion has a frequency. Because of this, each emotion provides you with energy, and you can manipulate that energy to pursue positive outcomes.
For example, you can harness the energy from your sadness or anger during a breakup, then refocus that energy on your own self-improvement. When you channel your emotions into something positive, you feel incredible. Trust me, it’s an amazing process when you commit to it.
4. They meditate
How much time do you spend by yourself each day? Instead of spending that time on social media, you could be setting aside time each day for silent meditation and reflection. Tapping into a meditative state allows you to stay present and fully connect to your emotions.
As you can imagine, that makes meditation an incredible exercise to increase your emotional intelligence. What’s more, time in a meditative state allows you to reflect on very important aspects of your life, such as growth, ideas, commitments, and much more.
Researchers investigating the impacts of various meditation styles found that more frequent meditation increased mindfulness and lowered perceived stress in the study's participants.
5. They remain present
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Last but not least, stay present in your life as much as possible. Focusing on the present moment allows you to tap into your intelligence, creativity, and emotions even more.
"When you allow yourself to stop your busyness and devote time to connect to your authentic self, you experience a sense of non-separation, wholeness, and completeness. When you practice mindfulness, you’ll stop being a harsh self-critic and become a constructive advisor instead," advised life coach Ora Nadrich.
When you remain mindful of the present moment, you can focus on everything that’s happening. You can observe, describe, and participate fully in what is happening around you without placing judgments on the events or worrying about the future or the past.
Remember, in order to connect with others, we must learn to connect with ourselves first. The best way to connect with ourselves is by understanding our emotions. Explore your emotions by using these five skills and discover your emotional self.
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