‘Emotional Intelligence is the ability to make your emotions work for you instead of against you’. Do you agree with this view? Discuss.

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability of recognising, accepting, managing one’s emotions as well as others to meet goals like common ends, professional success, team work etc.

According to Daniel Goleman it involves self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social management.

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to make your emotions work for you:

1. Emotional intelligence can help individuals respond to a situation of crisis effectively. For example, when dealing with adversities of life.

2. It can help channelise emotions constructively, for example, Kailash Satyarthi channelised his anger against child atrocities and initiated the Bachpan Bachao Andolan.

3. Emotional intelligence avoids crises of conscience and internal dissonance since an emotionally intelligent person acts in an ethically just way and with deep empathy. This ensures personal well-being as well as rights of others. E.g.: Gandhiji.

4. Emotional intelligence also leads to better decision making since individuals are acutely aware of their moral values and are not driven by short term materialistic goals. For example: Lal Bahadur Shashtri’s conscientious leadership.

5. EI leads to self-control which helps in behaving in an ethical manner during time of aggression and anger, and therefore can help one be poised and calm when in a crisis. E.g.: a District Magistrate when dealing with a communal riot.

Given the significance of emotional intelligence it is now said that success is dependent on 20% IQ and 80% EQ. Emotional intelligence should therefore be developed in individuals through socialisation at home and schools, for example through role modelling or programmes like Awaken Citizens Programme of Ramakrishna

Mission. EI must be continually reinforced through community living, meditation and so on.