Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Emotional Intelligence

I have recently started reading the book “Emotional Intelligence 2.0” by Bradberry & Greaves. It starts off by offering an online quiz which I scored pretty low on. However the suggestions for improvement are all very valid.


I have struggled with social interactions for quite some time. Part of that is due to being out of practice. A more significant part is not having developed strong social skills to begin with. I don’t believe it is a function of upbringing as my parents are very social and outgoing. They would always prefer to spend time with others rather than spending time alone.

I however tend to withdraw more often and most of my current hobbies are individual pursuits. Even playing poker, which most would consider a social outing, is an individual pursuit for me and I shy away from idle chitchat at the tables. To sum it up, I am afraid that people don’t get me and I would rather not say something that will be misconstrued. This is an issue in all of my relationships whether professional or personal.

I assume that even my spouse would concur that I communicate better in written form versus verbally.

It will be interesting to see how the book plays out and whether I follow through on steps to improve my emotional intelligence (EQ).

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