This post is a summary of my thoughts from Emotional Intelligence 2.0.
I broke a mental rule here. This book wasn’t worth reading yet I suffered through it hoping it could recover. It presents some good ideas, but it’s mostly a self-help checklist without any scientific merit or validation. You would be better off reading a 3-minute Medium post.
The book identifies 4 areas of emotional intelligence:
- Self-awareness
- Self-management
- Social awareness
- Relationship management
I did find these categories as a useful reference and intend to be conscious of them for any social interaction.
Here are a few excerpts I highlighted:
“You do control the thoughts that follow an emotion, and you have a great deal of say in how you react to an emotion — as long as you are aware of it.”
“Emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.”
“To be socially aware, you must be socially present and remove distractions”
“Since you are half of any relationship, you have half of the responsibility of deepening these connections.”
“Anyone can become angry — that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way, this is not easy.”