By Deborah Fox
These days we are all stressed. Nothing new here. it’s no secret that most of us spend much of our day in our heads, lining up the day’s details – scheduling appointments, checking off tasks, and reaching for deadlines. What to do next? In your quest to reduce stress, you’ve probably heard the word “mindfulness” — self-awareness or awareness of thoughts — and I am not talking about I am mindful that the due date is fast approaching!
It’s more than being aware. Get out of your head for just a moment. Erik Leslie, in his article Does Emotional Intelligence Start with Changing Your Heart? talks about the science of the heart, which is “…one of the central reference points for healing, transformation and accessing a higher intelligence.” Many times it’s how you respond to tough situations instead of automatically reacting to them.
I Googled Emotional intelligence for a simple definition: “monitoring your behavior as well as others’ emotions, and using this information to guide your own thinking and behavior”.
Where do we start? Focus on the heart of the matter – your heart. Have you ever felt like the energy was being sucked out of you when in the company of someone really negative? Then, without knowing it, you pass along negativity to those around you. It is easy to spread without you even knowing it.
If you are mindful and aware of your emotions, you can reduce your anxiety and stress, and increase your happiness and well-being. The heart, says Leslie, “…has a healing power, sends out a vibrations that can heal and be picked up by other’s brainwaves.”
In a second article titled Mindfulness is About Emotional Intelligence, Leslie ends with the benefits of emotional intelligence, a vote for a change of heart:
- Self-Awareness of Emotions
- Self-Regulation of Emotions
- Recognize and Influence Emotions in others
- Building Connection and Healthy Communication with Others
