Last Updated on December 20, 2023
Do you consider yourself emotionally intelligent?
If yes, then, you’re lucky.
But if not, then, don’t worry because it’s not too late!
As their name suggests, emotional intelligence training activities are attempts to establish, develop, and retain a person’s emotional intelligence, also known as EI or Emotional Quotient (EQ).
Here are 9 useful activities to help you reach your goal of improving your EI:
1. Breathe
Now, this may sound simple but surprisingly, many people don’t breathe calmly enough because of their hectic lives.
Every time you are under stress, take a step back and close your eyes to breathe for several moments. Feel each breath to experience it fully.
Doing this will help you think straight and calm down to avoid reacting rashly in every situation, especially stress-filled ones.
Breathing does wonders in tapping into your inner self and monitoring your emotions better.
2. Count 1 to 10 During Stressful Moments
Every time you feel stressed out, take a step back, breathe, and slowly count 1 to 10. The best way of doing this is to take a slow breath then say “one” when you exhale. Follow the same process until you reach 10.
3. Develop the Habit of Fixing Your Bed
If you’re like most people, your bed is probably filled with all your devices, from your smartphone to your tablet, laptop, and all other sorts of gadgets and electronics.
However, it is important to learn to regularly switch off those devices and make your bedroom a no-gadget zone. It is ideal to switch off your TV or laptop two hours before you sleep.
Just so you know, the light they give off is like sunlight that keeps you awake and makes it harder for you to fall asleep. Remember that you will only be able to function well, mentally and physically, if you get enough hours of quality sleep.
4. List Down Your Emotions Everyday
To know yourself better, make it a point to keep an emotions journal. Break every page into two columns. The one on the left will be for your emotions listed by the hour, while the right one will be for the context surrounding that emotion.
Analyze and compare all emotions after listing them down. Dong this, you can see where your emotions come from exactly. This will help you change their triggers and lessen your negative emotions to help you stop them from arising in the first place.
5. Reflect on Your Current Feelings
To know what you really feel, always take time to understand your feelings and reflect on them. An easy way of doing this is writing down what you feel and naming the specific emotion.
If you cannot do it at the exact moment it happens, you can at least try to bring it back later. To take things to the next level, you can also use a metaphor to describe the emotion.
6. Reframe
Every person has a different perception of things. What you consider bad or good may not be for other people. Changing your point of view, particularly if you are angry or stressed out, is one of the most powerful tools for better management of your emotions right when they happen.
The main idea here is the fact that your mind has the option of how it will perceive reality. You can also train it so you can be sure that it will serve you best.
7. Schedule Some Problem-Solving Time
When you are always busy with your unending list of things to do, it is easy to forget about actually thinking things through.
If you want to be creative and solve problems, the best thing you can do is to set aside time for this on top of the hours you spend doing your daily activities.
The easiest way to do it is to give them 15 minutes daily. Add them to your calendar and go for a stroll to think and reflect. It’s as simple as that.
8. Visit Your Values
Every time you notice that you have the wrong reasons for doing things, it indicates that it is not going right because it is outside of your personal beliefs. List your deep beliefs and values and try to determine if your feelings really align with them.
9. Know Why You Do the Things You Do
Consciously monitor everything you do and ask yourself why you do it in the first place. Do you do it for someone else or for yourself? What is the purpose of doing it? Is this the most important thing you should do at the moment?
List down all the things you do daily and write down your reasons for doing them. It will help you determine what matters the most and whether you are spending enough time on it. This will let you focus and know yourself better as a result.
Use these 9 activities in your emotional intelligence training to hone and improve your EQ in no time!
