Increase Your Self-Awareness and Emotional Choice

Improving your self-awareness is hard. The same goes for trying to raise your emotional intelligence or expand your empathy. The most common reason is that it is usually difficult to put a name to the emotion you are experiencing because your brain is likely processing more than one reaction at once. Not only do feelings overlap and blend, but there are hundreds of emotions, each with many degrees of intensity, which makes emotional awareness a tough skill to master. Yet the more skilled you become at discerning the force that is shaping your mood and directing your actions, the greater your ability to manage your feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.

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You can choose to act based on possibilities instead of reacting to the moment out of habit. The result is greater effectiveness, productivity, and confidence. And as you understand your own emotions and behavior, you increase your understanding of what drives the actions of those around you. With this knowledge, you can improve your relationships and, above all, your happiness. Emotional intelligence is a key factor in improving your quality of life.

Steps to create your own emotional inventory:

Three times a day for the next two weeks, set your watch or computer to remind you to notice:

1. What am I doing and with whom am I doing it (working alone, talking with family, attending a meeting, driving, eating with a friend, watching a movie alone, etc…)?
2. the emotions I feel in the moment and why.
3. Consider what the source of these emotions is. What do you think triggered the emotions you are feeling?

 DOWNLOAD THE EXERCISE SHEETS HERE

Click the link above to download a list of emotions and a calendar to help you identify what you feel.

If you are asleep during the scheduled times, adjust the assessment hours to fit your schedule.

Remember, honesty matters. Simply acknowledging an emotion can often diffuse or heighten an emotional reaction. You may find that over time the intensity of some moods decreases, while other sensations, usually the more pleasant ones, increase. That is why emotional intelligence supports every aspect of your personal growth.