The basics of emotional intelligence as a foundation for competence

During basic, practical situations that require our critical thinking processes, our brains revert to their original, familiar, ergonomic actions and reactions. All combinatorics, creative deliberations and long-term planning are forgotten. The neural circuits responsible for responding to threats formed millions of years ago, but to this day we still experience their capabilities, which paralyze us, provide us with feelings of anxiety, panic, fear and rage. The level of sugar, which is an energetic fuel, jumps in the blood, the blood begins to circulate faster and is directed from the centers of the brain dealing with higher forms of thinking to the places responsible for mobilizing the body in crisis situations. Responsible for this is the stress hormone cortisol, which imposes on the functioning of our brain the adoption of a primal survival strategy, which consists of sensitization of the senses and suppression of thoughts. Severe stress impairs our mental abilities for a short period of time, but chronic stress threatens to have a lasting and negative impact on the intellect.

Theinability to control emotions therefore entails submission to impulses, from which our ability to think suffers. Emotional self-control, however, should not be confused with exaggerated self-control, expressed by reactions of suppression of all feelings and spontaneity. It is the emotional competence of self-control that is supposed to enable us to choose to express our feelings by dealing effectively with violent emotions and impulses. We maintain a positive attitude even in the most difficult moments thanks to our ability to concentrate and think clearly, because good recognition of negative emotions helps us get rid of bad moods faster. The art of self-control consists in directing one's emotions in such a way that the compounds characteristic of bad stress do not dominate us. Cortisol is then pumped in acceptable doses, balanced by catechol compounds. We then have an exquisite mood, and our ability to think creatively and react brilliantly is optimal, ensuring that we reach creative and intellectual heights.

From this competency comes a restfulness and conscientiousness, which boils down to acting with integrity and accepting responsibility for one's actions. Having such competence, we are able to act according to ethical principles, we also inspire trust by being able to admit our mistakes. However, compliant cannot mean conforming to the expectations of others, as such an attitude inhibits creative thinking, which requires spontaneity and openness to unexpected solutions while maintaining the requirements of conscientiousness, as ensuring the transformation of ideas into action.

The same group includes innovation and adaptability, which means an attitude that is open to novel ideas and flexible in accepting diverse requirements and rapid change. Possessing this competence, we are able to adapt our behavior to changing circumstances thanks to our multifaceted way of perceiving reality. Individuals wielding the competence of innovation seek inspiration for creative thinking and action from a multitude of sources, and ideas usually bear the mark of originality, representing new points of view despite taking risks associated with their novelty. The creative mind by its very nature is unruly, and it is a bit of risk-taking that creates unexpected creations and situations that deviate from established paradigms.

Important in personal competence are motivations. This concept encompasses striving to meet the criteria of excellence by achieving increasingly complex goals. People with this competence are able to set them themselves and take the risks involved in achieving them, minimizing uncertainty with the ability to appropriately seek and select information and draw conclusions that lead to the process of self-education.

As we can see from the example of these several competencies, emotional intelligence already takes its beginnings of functioning at the physiological level. It is worth noting that in order to speak of any innovation, creativity or other levels of thinking, it is necessary to apply, described by Maslow's famous ladder of needs. Without satisfying physiological needs "we will go no further," which is why it is so important to take care of yourself, your health, your well-being.