Emotional Intelligence

Marrying Gratitude and Emotional Intelligence This Thanksgiving

Everyday Gratitude

As we continue our series of walking through the storm with confidence, it would only stand to reason that on this Thanksgiving Week, I would choose to focus on gratitude, right?

Well…Kind of.

While I am so grateful, no pun intended, that many countries have a day set aside for thankfulness, and I cherish the memories of celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends, we should be grateful every single day of our lives.

Gratitude is a powerful human emotion that refers to a state of thankfulness; it is acknowledging the good things in life.

Scientific research has proven that gratitude has endless benefits. People who weave gratitude into their day-to-day lives have enhanced immune systems, better interpersonal relationships, and report increased life satisfaction.

In this short blog, we will be marrying Emotional Intelligence and gratitude together with the hope of making this a more memorable and peaceful Thanksgiving experience for you.

Why, because we don’t live in a perfect world.

In a Perfect World

In a perfect world, all families get along; no conflicts.

In a perfect world, all holidays are filled with joy and camaraderie.

In a perfect world, love ones are still with us.

Since we don’t live in a perfect world, let’s look at how we can enjoy this Thanksgiving Holiday with greater gratitude, more joy, while building deeper connections.

Emotional Intelligence

This may come as a surprise to you but research convincingly states that EQ, Emotional Intelligence, is more important than IQ.

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions and understand those of the people around you.

What’s really cool is that Emotional Intelligence is a skill that can be learned.

How to Leverage Your Emotional Intelligence This Thanksgiving

Increase Your Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is about understanding yourself and knowing what pushes your buttons and why. Awareness is the first step to being in control of your emotions.

Let’s face it arguments and disagreements happen.

Knowing ahead of time what your triggers are puts you ahead of the game.

Self-regulation is the ability to use the awareness of your emotions to stay calm, flexible, and to guide your behavior in a positive direction.  If someone says something that strikes a nerve, this is the perfect time to practice mindfulness.

Press pause and take a deep breath.  Identify what you are feeling.

Practice responding versus reacting so that you don’t say something you will regret.

This puts you in full control of your emotions.

Exercise Social Awareness

Social awareness is accurately picking up on the emotions of others. It is the ability to recognize the emotional cues of others and understand them better.

The magic key here is to do so without the lens of judgment. Developing a learner mindset rather than being quick to jump to conclusions will yield much better results.  Try to understand the other person’s point of view rather than just wanting to be right.

Social Skills

Social skills draw from the first three emotional intelligence skills; self-awareness, self-regulation, and social awareness.

Having strong social skills is your ability to use the awareness of your own emotions and those of others to manage interactions more successfully. This ensures clearer communication of handling conflict.

Wise Words

When it comes to heated arguments, my mom’s words still echo in my mind regarding conflict,

“Mejita, people are more important than things or than proving you have to be right.”

Start and End With Gratitude

You may be in a group of people who will not face any conflict this Thanksgiving.

But perhaps you have experienced a separation from a loved one or possibly even lost a loved one.

If so, use the power of gratitude. Gratitude is a gift that reduces fear and anxiety. It regulates your body’s stress hormones.

In essence, gratitude enhances the production of dopamine and serotonin – neurotransmitters responsible for happiness.

This in turn produces greater feelings of joy and contentment.

When it comes to loss, you can always be thankful for the warm memories, for the shared engagements, for the love you experienced.

Marrying Gratitude with Emotional Intelligence is a powerful tool to help you flourish during the Holidays and to focus on the things that really do matter.

Be thoughtful

Be Genuine

But most of all be thankful.” Unknown

From my house to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.

Be Grateful,

Rita

Always remember – Nothing is Impossible

Crisis Kit

I have created this anti-anxiety and anti-stress tool kit, proven by science, to help you reduce anxiety and stress. I guarantee you that if you implement some of these ideas and use these tools; you will navigate this uncertainty boat like a highly skilled Captain.

First NameJohn

Your emailjohnsmith@example.com

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