“The simple act of paying attention can take you a long, long way.”
Intrapersonal Intelligence ⇔ Interpersonal Intelligence
The first lesson in reading people, using the principles of emotional intelligence, is to understand yourself more deeply.
What motivates you. What excites you. What angers you. What lifts you up!
As self-awareness is essential for both personal and relationship success.
If you can’t comprehend your own emotions and motivations, how will you ever understand the behaviour of others?
Understanding Yourself ⇔ Understanding Others
Self-awareness as a daily practice.
Notice how your emotions ebb and flow throughout the day.
One way of doing this is to schedule time at the end or beginning of your day for quiet contemplation and self-reflection.
Find your favourite place to relax and unwind. Perhaps in the garden or in a cozy chair by the window. Or on a walk by the trees.
Alternatively, enjoy a 2 minute “Self Check In” at the top of each hour.
Pause. Reflect. Breathe Deeply.
Journal. Meditate. Create.
What you will find is the more consistently you pay attention to your own drives and desires, the better you will understand the emotions and motivations of others.
Simple self-awareness exercise.
In the video below, I share the simple exercise I use to enhance self-awareness in myself and others. Can you guess the EQ questions I ask students?
Your Turn:
How would you describe yourself in one word?
To hear my “one word” — check out the 1 min video above. 📌🎥
Thriving Under Pressure 
In one word…loved!
The best answer! ♥️♥️
Growing!
What a dynamic and equally grounded way to describe yourself VJ.
So poetically you. 🍃💚
Thanks, Andrea. Couldn’t think of another way to express how I feel right now. Love the exercise.
First thought. Best thought! Especially when it comes to intuitive exercises like this. Always grateful for your participation. And for your writing. Not only are you growing. You also encourage the same growth and s t r e t c h i n g in your readers. And I’m intrigued by it all. xo
if we can inspire but one person through sharing our journey, i believe it is worth it. It lends purpose to it all, doesn’t it?
Most definitely! 🌷
Challenged.
And what opportunity waits for you on the other side of challenge… What lesson in the adversity? Inquiring minds want to know. 😉
Oh, boy. Which came first, the challenge, or the opportunity? The one often brings the other. Sometimes (hell, many times) the challenge wearies me, but facing and accepting it gives me the opportunity to learn, grow, and find more challenges. And I learn that I build knowledge, confidence, and insight from the challenges faced and the opportunities found. Then the joy of facing challenges and finding opportunities pushes me to go on to more.
It’s not always an even or easy journey, but facing the challenge seems like the best course. It’s always a choice.
Choice is our path to empowerment.
For we rarely choose our circumstances, yet we (almost) always have the opportunity to choose our reaction.
I love your attitude Michael.
Thank you, doctor. My attitude is a lifelong work in progress.
I had a flurry of words
Thankful was first then
Contentment and
Meaningful.
Thank you as always for your blogs.
Oh John! This is great.
I love when posts spark ideas.
Thank you for sharing your “one word” x 3.
And for your continued encouragement!
#motivation #multiplied
Reflective. Today I’m reflective.
Enjoyed your post and the video, Andrea.
The idea of understanding ourselves in order to better understand others is important.
Reflective fits in so perfectly with this post.
Thank you for watching the video too! 🙂
My pleasure.
Such brilliant words!
Yes, mind and heart complete one another, and “getting” others emotionally is even more important than just “getting” them 🤗🤗🤗
Amen B!
xo
Great post, Dr. Dinardo! So often we overlook the obvious – how we work and interact.
Thanks for the feedback Tony!
Brilliant post, one that I actively live.
My one word …. learning ….
I love your word!
Learning = Living
My one word would be resilient.
This is a great post! When we feel emotionally overwhelmed, finding a few seconds to investigate what the emotion is trying to tell us can help. Grounding is so important! Thanks for this reminder.
Resilient — so much power & bounce in one word. This is you. And as you say, equally all of us. We just need some gentle reminders each day, to take a beat, rest in our breath, and slowly unwrap the message our emotions have for us.
Selfless
Such a wonderful way to be Syl. Thank you for sharing so much of your goodness with the world. 🙂
Thank you, Andrea and thank you for the light you that you share. 🙂
In one word … Blessed.
What a beautiful way to describe yourself Laura Beth. And there is no doubt that you share your blessings with many! xo
Andrea, may I share this post on my blog?
Yes, please share with your readers on your blog Amitav. That would be wonderful! 😊
Reblogged this on Amitav Chowdhury and commented:
This is a wonderful post by Andrea on self-awareness. As Ralph Ellison had said, “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.”
I thank Andrea for sharing these important lessons, as I am sure they help us in learning a bit more through introspection.
The word that comes through for me is “alive”!
Love it! 💃💥
Such a needed blog post ♥️
Wonderful knowing the message arrived at just the right time! Thanks for sharing Renee. You’ve motivated me to work on part 2 of this post. 🙂
I think my one word would have to be “loved”.
I can’t imagine a better word! 🙂
I completely agree that to understand yourself greatly benefits the way you can understand others. I have definitely found this to be true with my children!
Thank you for sharing Brittney! Especially given how many children you have. You get it!
I completely agree.
Lovely post.
Thank you!
Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
Compassionate
You are! On so many beautiful levels.☀️
Wow, somehow never thought of levels
🦅💥♥️