Emotional intelligence is made up of four factors: self-confidence, self-government, social awareness, and relationship management. Each of these offers practical navigation strategies in these challenging times.
Self-awareness
Self-confidence is an attitude towards our emotions and their impact on others. It can be influenced by reflexive practices, one of which is mindfulness. You can strengthen your self-awareness with certain micro-practices - conveniently, for example, when washing your hands with disinfectant. You will thus build an excellent habit of taking care of yourself. Ask yourself how you feel during this activity. Are you tired, hungry, thirsty? Do you have any "emotional burden"? Can anything help you live more in the present here and now? Talk to yourself with kindness and care. It's a technique that helps.
Autonomy
Self-management is the ability to control emotions, especially those usually considered difficult, such as anger and frustration. Being able to calm oneself down in these cases helps a lot. So ask yourself: what triggers your negative emotions? Some inner feeling? Information ambiguity? What self-calming technique or strategy helps? Very often, a soothing technique can be diaphragmatic breathing in conjunction with, for example, movement and relaxation music. Be aware that human physiology often resets after at least 20 minutes following emotional activation. It is therefore necessary to know exactly what you need to do in order to restore a calm and focused state.
Social awareness
Social awareness includes what is commonly called empathy. If you are strong in this area, you may have less experience of empathising with yourself or creating space for vital self-care. So is worth remembering that good self-care allows us to be here for others, and thus use empathy in a more balanced way. Having resources and strategies for self-awareness and self-control can increase our ability to help others. This brings emotional benefits to both ourselves and those we serve.
Relationship management
Relationship management is how we communicate with others, influence them, and manage the supportive or stressful bonds of our relationships. At this time of great anxiety and stress, patience and the thought that others are doing everything in their power can bring lightness to our minds. Likewise, slowdowns at key moments or moments of tension can bring about more attention and connection of relationships. Slowing down a bit is a simple suggestion; however, its implementation can be challenging. Nonetheless, it is a habit that can be built day by day.
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