Feelings

Feelings are very important. Emotional Intelligence (EI), as popularized by Daniel Goleman, is usually described as having five characteristics:

1. Self Awareness
2. Empathy
3. Motivation
4. Self Regulation
5. Social Skills

Developing these areas is considered essential for personal growth and successful social interaction. EI is “the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others” (“Emotional Intelligence,” 2020). The very word emotion denotes what moves a person to take action. The individual is best positioned to access and know their own feelings and emotions.

Using emotions to reason or think misuses this key human faculty. Expressing desires and wants is appropriately centered on one’s feelings. Saying a thing is true because it feels right is nonsense. Developing both emotional and reasoning skills, and applying each appropriately, cultivates a well-balanced mind.

References

Emotional Intelligence. (2020). Retrieved August 7, 2022, from Psychology Today website: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/emotional-intelligence