An ASC Workshop

In college, particularly in the first year, many students who are intellectually capable of fully succeeding struggle and have difficulty establishing positive relationships with others and making wise decisions.  Other students seem to adapt without any trouble.  The difference doesn't lie in how "smart" a student is, or how talented they are academically.  The difference has to do with the EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE of the student.  EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE is the ability to recognize and manage moods, feelings, and attitudes.  

There is a wealth of evidence that shows a clear connection between a students' Emotional Intelligence and whether or not they stay in college.

To begin, let's discuss exactly what Emotional Intelligence is.

Emotions are a huge part of who a person is.  We shouldn't ignore them, because the better the emotional read or handle you have on a situation, the more likely you are that you will respond to it appropriately.  Being aware of your own personal feelings as well as the feelings of those around you helps you to gather the information that you need to make decisions about how to respond in certain situations.  A person's emotions are real, can be changed for the better, and have a profound impact on whether or not a person will be successful or not.  

Emotional Intelligence consists of two general abilities.

First, understanding emotions involves not only the capacity to recognize, monitor, and label feelings accurately, but also the ability to determine why you feel the way that you do.  Understanding emotions also involves the ability to predict how other people might feel in a situation.  Emotions contain information, and being able to decode the information plays a crucial role in your behavior.

Secondly, managing emotions builds on the belief that feelings and emotions can be modified, even improved.  At times, you need to stay open to your feelings, learn from them, and use them as the basis for your actions.  At other times, the wise choice may be to disengage from the emotion and return to it later.  Anger, for example, can blind you and lead you to act in negative or antisocial ways; used positively though, that same anger can help you overcome adversity or injustice.

Once you start paying attention to your own emotions as well as the emotions of those around you, you can learn to not only cope with life's pressures and demands, but also how to harness that knowledge to make more effective decisions, to problem solve more efficiently, and to become more creative.

Emotional Intelligence is always a work in process.  Assessing your emotional intelligence requires you to dig deep inside yourself and to be honest about how you really think in various situations and how you behave.