Emotional and Positive Intelligence

Applying Emotional and Positive Intelligence to improve mental health

Emotional intelligence (EI or EQ) refers to the ability to recognize, understand, manage, and influence emotions—both your own and those of others. It’s often divided into several key components:

1. Self-Awareness: Recognizing and understanding your own emotions. This includes being aware of how your emotions affect your thoughts and behaviour.

2. Self-Regulation: Managing your emotions in a healthy way, controlling impulsive feelings and behaviours, and adapting to changing circumstances.

3. Motivation: Harnessing emotions to pursue goals with energy and persistence. This involves being driven to achieve and maintaining a positive attitude despite setbacks.

4. Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others. This helps in building strong relationships and responding appropriately to the emotions of others.

5. Social Skills: Navigating social complexities, building and maintaining relationships, and effectively communicating and interacting with others.

High emotional intelligence often expands relationships, improves mental health, and greater professional success. It’s considered crucial for effective leadership, teamwork, and personal well-being.

Positive Intelligence (PQ) is a concept developed by Shirzad Chamine, focusing on enhancing mental fitness and overall well-being. The idea revolves around strengthening the "Positive Intelligence Quotient" or PQ, which measures the proportion of time your mind is in a positive versus negative state.

The core aspects of Positive Intelligence are:

1. Sage vs. Saboteur Mindset: PQ emphasizes cultivating the "Sage" mindset, characterized by positive, clear, and productive thinking. In contrast, the "Saboteur" mindset is associated with negative, self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviours. Developing PQ involves recognizing and reducing the influence of these saboteurs.

2. Five Sage Powers: These are key mental skills to enhance positive thinking and resilience:

   • Empathy: Understanding and connecting with others' emotions.

   • Innovation: Seeing new possibilities and creative solutions.

   • Navigation: Making wise decisions aligned with your goals.

   • Self-Command: Controlling impulsive responses and staying focused.

   • Action: Taking purposeful and effective actions.

3. PQ Gym: This refers to mental exercises and practices designed to strengthen your Sage mindset and reduce the influence of saboteurs. These practices often include mindfulness, self-awareness, and positive affirmations.

4. Impact on Life: Enhancing PQ can lead to improved performance, better relationships, increased resilience, and a greater sense of fulfillment.

Overall, Positive Intelligence is about shifting from a mindset driven by fear, doubt, and negativity to one of optimism, clarity, and constructive action.

By continuously applying emotional and positive intelligence your mental health can show noticeable improvements.

Some areas in your mental health that can benefit from improving EQ and PQ are:

1. Enhanced Self-Awareness and Regulation

• Emotional Intelligence: By understanding and managing their own emotions better, individuals can respond to stress and challenges in a healthier way. This awareness helps them identify and address emotional triggers, reducing overall stress and anxiety.

• Positive Intelligence: Strengthening mental fitness through PQ practices improves resilience against negative thought patterns. Individuals learn to shift from a saboteur mindset to a Sage mindset, which helps in managing emotions more constructively.

2. Improved Interpersonal Relationships

• Emotional Intelligence: High EI fosters empathy and better communication, which improves relationships with others. Stronger, more supportive relationships contribute to a sense of belonging and emotional support, enhancing mental well-being.

• Positive Intelligence: PQ practices often lead to more positive interactions and greater optimism. When people approach relationships with a Sage mindset, they tend to handle conflicts more constructively and build more supportive networks.

3. Increased Resilience and Adaptability

• Emotional Intelligence: Understanding one's own emotions and those of others allows for better coping strategies and adaptability. This emotional agility helps individuals navigate life’s ups and downs more effectively.

• Positive Intelligence: PQ focuses on cultivating a positive outlook and problem-solving skills. By fostering a mindset that sees challenges as opportunities, individuals become more resilient and better equipped to handle adversity.

4. Enhanced Motivation and Goal Achievement

• Emotional Intelligence: High EI supports intrinsic motivation by aligning personal goals with one's emotional values. This alignment can lead to greater satisfaction and persistence in pursuing goals.

• Positive Intelligence: PQ practices help in maintaining motivation and energy by focusing on strengths and positive outcomes. This positive reinforcement encourages ongoing effort and goal attainment.

5. Reduced Negative Self-Talk and Self-Sabotage

• Emotional Intelligence: By recognizing and understanding self-sabotaging behaviours and thoughts, individuals can work to counteract them with more constructive self-talk and strategies.

• Positive Intelligence: PQ specifically targets negative self-talk and internal saboteurs. Techniques to reduce these negative influences help in maintaining a more positive and supportive inner dialogue.

By integrating emotional and positive intelligence, individuals build a foundation for more effective emotional management, healthier relationships, and greater overall resilience, all of which contribute to improved mental health and well-being.