5 Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence

I believe in order for anyone to truly be happy they have to master the five dimensions of emotional intelligence. The first dimension, self-awareness serves as a personal reflection. If one is not self-aware, that is, having the ability to be aware of what he/she is feeling, one cannot be conscious of the various opportunities and experiences out there. In order to make logical progressions in your life, you have to know what you feel and what gives you those feelings, which brings us to the next dimension of emotional intelligence; Self-management. Self-management is extremely important because once your awareness brings you to grips with what’s important, it will be your ability of management to prioritize and put action to your various emotions. Most people have some degree of both self-awareness and self-management, but what separates regular from great people is the third dimension; Self-motivation. Self-motivation is ones ability to persist when obstacles temporarily prevent them from achieving what their awareness and management have deemed so important to them. Many people have an extent of motivation, but very few will persevere through almost anything. An example of someone who has this rare class of motivation is Soichiro Honda, the founder of the Honda Corporation. In 1938, Honda toiled day and night, sleeping in his own shop to produce a piston-ring in hopes of selling his product to Toyota. However, when he presented the end result to Toyota, Honda was told it didn’t meet Toyota’s standards. After two more years of hard work, Honda finally received the contract from Honda. However, after all this, the Japanese government was getting ready for war and wouldn’t give Honda the concrete necessary to build his factory. Instead of quitting there, Honda decided to invent his own process for making concrete, and then used it to make the factory. Despite his factory being bombed several times, Honda saw opportunities, using gasoline cans disposed by the U.S. fighters to manufacture products. These cans contained materials that were unavailable at the time in Japan. Soichiro Honda was an extremely motivating individual, and that is why Honda is one of the most profitable automakers in today’s world. Empathy is another dimension of Emotional intelligence that is a pivotal aspect in one’s life. Empathy refers to the ability to sense how others are feeling. Empathy is especially important in one’s relationship(s) with family, friends and significant other. You have to be able to know how others are feeling in order to be there for them when they’re in need. And finally, the fifth dimension of emotional intelligence is social skills: the ability to handle the emotions of others. An example of someone who has to have enormous empathy and social skills is the President of the United States. Not only does he have to be able to know what is important to the majority of Americans, and how they are feeling at the time, but he has to act on these emotions with his social skills, writing bills and creating laws that enhance the quality of life for America, and in many cases the world. I believe that truly happy and successful people exhibit each of the aforementioned five traits. These dimensions of emotional intelligence are involved in every aspect of one’s life from social, financial, emotional, physical and sexual facets, among others.