I find the very concept of emotional
intelligence, or EQ, to be interesting. Not in the sense that we have
developed our psychological understanding of humanity to a point of
harnessing the wild torrents of emotion for our own benefit, as
advertised in business settings. But in that we've continued down a
path of discounting anything that doesn't fit into the purely logical
structures of our present society to the point of finding a new and
rational way to tout the benefits of suppressing or manipulating
emotion as a healthy practice.
I have
recently seen emotional intelligence summed up in the
following statement: The ability to experience an emotion without
reacting to it. A very grown up concept. At face value, it should
certainly seem mature and beneficial. How many immature outbursts,
tantrums essentially, have we seen thrown by people who should know
better? Individuals overcome with emotion in moments and in places
where such outbursts disrupt the feeling of safety and security of
those around. Though, this take may be more a result of the
boiled-down, buzz word aspects of our society more than the actual
study of the subject. So what is the study of EQ?
