By Bill Mason, Rocket Fuel Coach
As a seasoned leader and coach, I firmly believe in the power of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) as a vital tool to drive personal growth and success. No matter our age, the pursuit of self-improvement should never end—it is a lifelong journey, one that I commit myself to every day.
At age 57, my experiences have taught me the immense value of aiming for that 1% daily improvement. Through these incremental steps, we truly transform, shaping ourselves into the best version possible. Age is merely a number; your Emotional Age is determined by your willingness to learn, evolve and grow.
A few years ago, I was reading through the book, RARE Leadership in the Workplace and stumbled upon a set of questions that help you to know not your PHYSICAL maturity, but rather your EMOTIONAL maturity.
I was so excited to see how mature I was! This was going to be great! So, I started reading through the list and checking them off!
I read through the self-evaluation questions:
• Do I blow up easily and expect others to change their behavior simply because I am upset? YEP!
• Do I expect others to anticipate my needs and act without being asked? NOPE!
• Do I pout easily or sulk when I don’t get my way? YEP!
• Do I get stuck in negative emotions for days at a time with no idea how to recover? YEP!
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, it means you have a hole in your maturity at the infant level that needs to be addressed!
This means you need to focus, especially on the skills of quiet and appreciation.
Physically I am an adult! In many of the ways I interact with others, I was an Emotional Infant!
I often stop seeing people as people, and only see them as problems I have to fix or solve, often in very negative ways.
Someone could’ve actually taught me how to handle these emotional outbursts when I was age 3 to 5 years. No one ever did. The cool thing is, that in the last five years, I’ve had people around me who care enough to help me learn how to handle these challenging emotions without getting triggered by them.
I can finally act my age, both physically as well as emotionally.
How do I do that? Contact me if you have any questions or need further assistance with getting started. I’m always here to help in any way I can. (850) 855-3430; Bill@RocketFuelCoach.com.
