2 September 2024 : Daily Answer Writing
Q1) “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Discuss the importance of emotional intelligence in self-realisation. Do you think emotional intelligence can be learned?
(150 Words/10 Marks)
ANS
Self-realization is a state of fulfillment of personal potential and it begins from a better perception of the self. As per Aristotle, knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. The ability to recognize and regulate emotions and to use this emotional information to guide thinking and behavior is known as emotional intelligence (EI).
EI can help in achieving self-realization in following ways:
- Psychological Needs: EI helps in building stronger relationships due to empathy. Fulfillment of psychological needs is a prerequisite for self-realization as per Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
- Success: Emotionally intelligent person is successful against difficult odds due to higher adversity quotient. It helps her overcome obstacles to happiness.
- Equanimity: EI equips one with the ability to keep an even temper, which is useful in managing success, failure, and crisis.
- Openness to criticism: Emotionally intelligent person takes criticism constructively, which gives her the ability to improve herself continually. It also gives her access to diverse perspectives enriching her wisdom.
- Meaning and Purpose: Ability to connect with your feelings can turn intentions, passions, and desires into motivated actions. EI, thus, helps one find true purpose in life.
- Liberation: EI helps one create and choose incentives that liberate. E.g., Win-win approach, or hands-off approach in management.
Emotional intelligence consists of a set of skills and behaviours, which some people are naturally more adept at. But EI can also be learned, developed, and enhanced in following ways:
- We must know emotions to better regulate them. Thus, exercises to recognize and name emotions in particular situations can help improve EI.
- Reading literature can be a helpful aid to attain emotional maturity. Complex characters with shades of grey helps one develop perspective and understand people’s motivations.
- Cultivating certain key emotions can help improve one’s emotional quotient substantially. E.g., through empathy, one can understand the emotional needs of others. Gratitude helps one be more selfless.
- Practicing mindfulness can improve the ability to recognize emotions intelligently. Mindfulness calms one’s personality, improves focus and makes one more self-aware.
- Organizationally, one can develop a culture of emotional intelligence by incentivizing helpful and cooperative behavior through a system of rewards and recognition.
Emotional intelligence is a crucial ability in today’s world. It is an aid to self-realization. Emotional Intelligence can be learned and improved upon through conscious efforts and empathetic behavior
