The elusive IQ….
‘Einstein’, does this name needs any introduction? Creator of almost every chapter of the physics book, and blessed with an amazing IQ between 160-190. He has been one of the most intelligent personalities of all the time and there are tons of stories of about his amazing IQ. We also keep hearing many competitions where IQ is measured and many news articles where media discovers a child whose IQ is very high. Schools talk about IQ of children, recruiters directly or indirectly talk about IQ of potential candidates, colleagues at work talk about IQ of fellow colleagues during gossip sessions or tea/coffee breaks!
IQ or Intelligence quotient is a measure to define the academic abilities, like learning, reasoning, ability to apply knowledge etc. It is a score which tells how intelligent a person is compared to other people and is represented by a number. A normal human would have an IQ score between 90-109, above 140 is categorized as genius, while score below 70 is deficiency in intelligence.
But there is more to us humans…..
We have been fed the term IQ so much over the years that we have forgotten that there is more to a humans and their intelligence. In a real sense, we have two brains- one that thinks, and one that feels. IQ is that part of brain which deals with thinking, while the other part deals with emotions, perceptions, reactions, social behavior, creativity, expression etc. This is called Emotional Intelligence and we might be surprised but there is a measurement for this as well and it is called Emotional Quotient (EQ).
Human action are a byproduct of both thinking and feeling. A highly logical person might be using more of ‘thinking’ and less of ‘emotions’ but it is impossible for humans to act in isolation with only one of the two. Emotions get into our way of living life, making decisions almost every minute. Hence it is important to understand emotional intelligence (measured by EQ) as well.
Here comes the Emotional Intelligence ……
- Self -awareness: understanding own moods and emotions
- Self- management: control over emotions; thinking before acting
- Social awareness: develop a rapport with new people.
- Relationship management (Empathy): understanding other people emotions.
- Motivation: establishing clear goals and a positive attitude for self and other around us.
But, why is Emotional Intelligence important….
Research carried out by The Carnegie Institute of Technology (and many other researchers) shows the importance of EQ to be successful in life. The results of the research depicted that IQ is only 20% responsible for being successful while the rest 80 percent success depends on EQ. Why 80:20? Well, because, EQ helps individuals build and maintain relations with co-workers, clients, neighbors, family, promotes collaboration, social interaction and team work, increases productivity at work, and opens doors for clarity in communication. And hence someone wise said, “IQ gets you the job, but EQ gets you the promotion”.
Our children need higher Emotional Intelligence….
Skills and other cognitive abilities are relatively easy to learn in later stages of life but it is extremely hard for us to train our brain to handle emotions and feel or react differently to other’s responses. Also, the habits inculcated early in life tend to stick for rest of the life. It is often a challenge for adults to handle their emotions because they were never taught how to manage their emotions. Therefore the training for enriching emotion intelligence for children needs to begin early in life.
Kids need to be involved in different activities which help them understand their own emotions and the voluntary or involuntary response they exhibit.
Example 1: A child is getting throwing tantrums and getting angry – can we engage him in activities that make him happy? Can we try and understand the reasons for him to be angry and teach him how to ‘self-soothe’?
Example 2: A child did not get selected in final dance team and is very sad – can we engage him to understand that this is not end of the world! Can we make him do activities in which he feels that he is the best and also learn he can improve slowly?
Parents (and teachers), have to train them to understand emotions and respond to them appropriately. Because, if emotions are not managed well, they can cost a child dearly in future.
Daniel Goleman rightly says- “If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far”.
What can we do ….
We have been focusing on IQ for a very long time, but we also need to focus on EQ to raise successful children. There are many platforms like HapClap.com which can help parents and teachers to find different activities which will help elevate the EQ of their children.
Believe it or not, a simple martial arts class not only teaches self defense, but it also teaches our children how to manage anger and still channelize the energy towards controlled actions.
Or a simple drama class not only teaches acting, but also helps our children learn team spirit and role that they have to play in the larger drama called life.
Let us invest in the intersection of IQ and EQ and raise more #happyclappingkids around us.
HapClap 