Let’s go back to a time when people were still polytheists who believed in many different gods. Reading the mythologies of individual peoples, what we can define as similarities are the unprecedented skills of the glorious heroes. All of them possessed a set of specific qualities, thanks to which they were distinguished and mentioned in songs and legends – agility, divine power, unearthly beauty, agility, and much more. In other words, the more skills they combined, the more great and glorious heroes they became. Jumping forward in time, after the new era, we are undoubtedly convinced that this trend continues. History to this day remembers scientists and artists whose works are defined as masterpieces and have changed humanity and its perception of this material world. And here, what these great people have in common is the combination of exceptional skills and the way they have used them.
But what is the most important skill that does not require divine intervention, as in Achilles’ case? Or the hands of a master, such as those of Da Vinci? Relying again on Daniel Golman’s research, we continue the theme of his book, Emotional Intelligence. We will go even deeper into human consciousness to discover the skill that has the power to move, in a constructive direction, the wheel of human life and improve its quality. We will learn what “damages” the bad moods leave behind, and we will put on a pedestal what is an inexhaustible source of motivation – optimism.
Persons’ life is constantly “bombarded” by various situations that test our will, patience, and self-control. Some, as soldiers, defended the ambush. Others failed to hold the front and became slaves to the current situation.
The way we resist our own impulses is responsible for our social competence – efficiency, self-confidence, self-control, initiative, and others. By mastering this impulsiveness, we prevent ourselves from falling into the trap of our destructive feelings and emotions, and this in turn leads to the possession and improvement of the most essential skill. Contrary to what has been said, if we remain captive to impulses and let them lead the parade, we doom ourselves to indecision, self-denial, jealousy, envy, inability to cope with stressful situations accompanied by anger. This scientific evidence directly affects intellectual potential and attaches great importance to the role of emotional intelligence, which determines how and to what extent we can use our other mental capabilities.
Experiencing different situations brings with it contrasting moods. They, in turn, can act as a fuel for human motivation, or vice versa – to exhaust their inner strength. Firstly, we will erase the bad mood by slightly opening the door on the dark side. Peering inside gives us a clear idea of its consequences. First of all, it is good to be aware that anxiety is the enemy of the intellect. The greater our anxiety is, the greater our chance of failure is. When we are subject to this kind of emotion, our thoughts are often negative, filled with great uncertainty in our skills and qualities. It presses on our mental resources to deal with the situation and replaces them with others that process completely different and unnecessary information. Entangled in the webs of anxiety, they become self-fulfilling prophecies and fulfill all that we fear.
We continue with the positive mood, which undoubtedly undermines the negative, and it is the fuel for our motivation. We associate positivism with the hope that everything happens for a reason and will be fine. Finding the positive in every situation is a skill that will save you from apathy and depression. It will help you deal with problems. The optimistic person sees failures as opportunities to reward their own qualities and knowledge. Opportunity to make an even better plan of action. And even, if it is necessary, to ask for help and advice. In other words, optimists see unfavorable events as something that can be changed depending on their future actions. Fortunately, optimism and hope are learnable. They are based on the so-called “personal efficiency”. This is the men’s perception that they can be the masters of their life and handle any situation. Acquiring each new skill reinforces this feeling. This encourages us to take more risks and challenges.
We prove again that emotional intelligence is essential in this material world, as well ass curbing our own impulses and positive thinking – skills for our successful coping in the matrix of life.
