Have you heard of Emotional Intelligence?

• Self-awareness

• Self-regulation

• Motivation (defined as “a passion for work that goes beyond money and status”)

• Empathy for others

• Social skills, such as proficiency in managing relationships and building networks

So why does it matter? Because having good EI is a key attribute to good mental health, and there is a clear correlation between emotional intelligence and having the ability to cope with stressors, learning and working well, and being able to contribute to the community.

So how does mindfulness help us with developing our EI skills?

It is key!

Mindfulness can help us to be more aware of our thoughts and emotions so that we learn to manage them rather than being overwhelmed by them..

Many of us haven’t been taught to take the time to notice how we feel emotionally so we only start to notice when the emotion feels strong and then it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

One way to start to do this important work is through an internal weather check, allowing us to take a pause to become aware of our feelings before we react.

So how are you feeling? No really? If you don’t know start scanning your body, particularly looking for areas that feel tight or light and expansive. Then stop to ask what does this make me feel?

This is the start of the journey to becoming more aware of your feelings and to improving your emotional intelligence. If you want a little more guidance have a listen to my meditation below which helps y recognize, acknowledge, investigate, and nurture yourself in this exploration - often called RAIN for short.

Thank you for the image New Happy!