Improving Our “Signals” and “Beings”

This is a book review of Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

I purchased the 10th anniversary edition of this “groundbreaking book that redefines what it means to be smart”. 10 years following the release of his book, Goleman’s development and popularisation of emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) has sprouted a new field of study that assists parenting, teaching, managing people, personal success, and general well-being. If you are at all interested in your own emotions and the emotions of those around you, then Emotional Intelligence is what you are after.

Emotional intelligence is a broad subject incorporating how you manage yourself and other people’s emotions. There is the self component and relationship component. Emotional skills directly relating to the self include, but not limited to: self-awareness, impulse control, handling stress and anxiety, self-motivation, and coping skills; while emotional skills relating to relationships include, but not limited to: reading social and emotional cues, awareness of others’ perspectives, sociability, motivating people, managing conflict, and listening. Nearly all of these skills play a powerful role in personal living and business success.

Long gone are the days of a person’s intelligence quotient (IQ) being the primary determinant of his or her success. Research has found IQ to contribute only 20% of one’s success in life with the remaining majority of one’s success being accounted for by emotional and social intelligence. Due to our everyday interaction with others and the strong need to successfully manage one’s own emotions, emotional intelligence is likely to determine how far you go in your personal relationship and career. Book after book is now emphasising the importance of managing your own emotions and knowing how to work with other people’s emotions.

Having reported on the brain and human behavior at the New York Times for twelve years and receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard, Goleman’s eye-opening book is jammed with research and hundreds of studies relating to emotional skills. From the beginning of the book Goleman provides insight into the emotional and rational parts of the brain. In this section he explains the neurology behind emotions, along with their evolutionary use, which acts as a foundation for the remainder of the book. He does mention that the technicalities of this section can be skipped as it isn’t necessary to understood. Though I know some people have found this section on neurology fascinating nonetheless.

The following section defines the nature of emotional intelligence. In this section are discussions on: when smart is dumb, the development of empathy, depression, anger, happiness, optimism, focus, and much more. The third section titled “Emotional Intelligence Applied” deals with emotions in marriage, families, trauma, business teams, and the human body. The eleventh chapter, “Mind and Medicine”, will blow you away with the latest findings on how emotions affect various parts of the human body like the central nervous system, the immune system, and the heart.

The remaining chapters of Emotional Intelligence focuses on how parents can teach their children, and teachers educate their students, on emotional skills. Any principal, teacher, parent, or person involved in a child’s life is guaranteed to find the book’s research and insights on childrens’ emotional intelligence as shockingly real. From guaranteed ways to predict a child’s future temperament to the development of abusive, unsociable, and delinquent children, you will discover emotional insights into children. Additionally, the research on empathy and emotional development in babies is amazing. The stories of babies and toddlers empathizing with other young children, by sharing blankets or comforting to name a few skills, will have you hooked.

Overall, if you’re after a book that explains how you can develop emotional skills, I wouldn’t strongly advise you this book. Though there are plenty of skills buried in Goleman’s classic, I say the book is more about understanding the role emotions play in our personal lives and relationships than it is about developing emotional skills. With about 300 citations of mostly research from academic journals, Emotional Intelligence bridges the impact emotions have in our everyday lives from academic studies to the general public.

Lastly, I really hope for emotional intelligence to continue broadening into people’s lives. It is a field of study that has monumental potential in shaping social and worldly issues. I really recommend you learn more about it. After reading the book I have absolute confidence that you will understand the importance emotions play in our lives, as well as seeing the need for schools to teach children emotional skills.

With emotional intelligence being a large determinant in your personal happiness, confidence, success, and relationships, you’re sure to get a lot of powerful information on emotions in this well-written book. The book flows smoothly and should have your life doing the same. You can grab your copy of Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence from Amazon by clicking here today.

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