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©Arlene R. Taylor, PhD     www.ArleneTaylor.org

articles200408Fifty years ago, the terms Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Quotient were not part of mainstream culture. Thanks to Goleman and others, this has changed dramatically.

Even fewer had heard of the Success Quotient, a perceived measure of your overall success in life to date. The formula states: IQ (Intelligence Quotient) plus EQ (Emotional Quotient) equals SQ (Success Quotient).

IQ contributes a mere 20% to success. EQ, a whopping 80%― four times the contribution of IQ.

EQ involves separate skills so does not show up on IQ tests. Yet, EQ matters more than anything else to one’s level of success.

Of your 30,000 genes, about 500 contribute to your IQ, skills related to academic intelligence, of which perhaps 50-80% is inherited from your biological parents. Environment and choice also contribute. A range and not a static number, you may be able to raise your IQ by 5-30 points depending on where you start.

Not an emotion itself, EQ represents a set of skills to help you manage emotions effectively. You can experience them, get their message, choose behaviors that result in positive outcomes, and ultimately increase your likelihood of success.

Although beliefs about emotions differ, uterine scans have shown that facial expressions registering four specific emotions—all positive—are inborn and can be seen on the face of a fetus. Anger, fear, and sadness are protective emotions—although behaviors around them may be negative. Joy is the only emotion with no negative consequences when maintained over time.

Emotions are signals that arise in the subconscious from a stimulus inside or you (thoughts) or outside of you (environment). They connect the subconscious with the conscious mind and provide valuable information. The brain then tries to make sense of the emotion and what you think it means, which results in a feeling. To change the way you feel, you must change the way you think!

What do high EQ skills look like?  Check out Part 2.