The importance of developing and maintaining good interpersonal and intrapersonal skills cannot be underestimated. Good communication is essential to developing and nurturing good relationships. Many people have some understanding  of the need to communicate effectively with others, but take for granted  the one voice always with us, our own. We can tune out the noise of distraction and negativity of others, but that constant voice within, we are forced to listen to any and every time it processes our thoughts.

Knowing how to communicate with ourselves is a prerequisite for effective communicating with others. Self awareness is a critical component in this equation because we all know from experience that our emotions and feelings impact our thoughts, interactions and actions.

"You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for his own improvement and at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful."

Marie Curie

Each of us has inherent responsibilities; to our self, family, community, nation and the world. With those responsibilities comes the reality that things I do, impact others in some way. With that being said,  each of us has a responsibility to be more "mindful" to the needs and desires of others. Whether we want to or not.

All stakeholder groups should have roles in increasing the social responsibility of communities served. Previously, attention was devoted to the subject of empathy. The diversity of our nation requires levels of co-existence that are unprecedented. Whether we want of not, people need to develop the ability to get along with one another. Without empathy, there will always ...

"When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That's when you can get more creative in solving problems." Stephen Covey

Empathy and Social Awareness are two sides of the same coin. According to emotional intelligence expert Robert Jerus, "The empathy/social awareness reflects awareness and consideration of the feelings and responses of others. The ability to empathize and maintain sensitivity to the moods and emotions of others allows for superior intuition and connection. One cannot gain a comprehensive level of social awareness without empathy. To gain a superior intuition and connection with others, one must have a good understanding of their feelings and emotions.

The lack of empathy and social awareness hinders the ability to connect with others and collaborate with them on the highest levels possible. The diversity in America and the world bring levels of complexity in connecting and collaborating to solve some of ...

"Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Daniel Goleman has proven that two-thirds of the success in business is based upon our Emotional Intelligence as opposed to our IQ or our level of experience. As we look for the next crop of future CEOs, maybe it's time for America's corporations to start interviewing grads from the psychology master's programs rather than the M.B.A. programs."

Chip Conley

Prior to 1995 it was widely believed and taught that Intellectual Quotient (IQ) was the best indicator of one's future success. Such a premise was wrong!  As we approach 2020, we now know that Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is a far greater indicator of one's success. Over this 25 year period, we have come to see and understand that for decades prior to 1995, millions have been taught wrongly based on this erroneous premise. As the sciences continue to advance and dispense new insights and information; the world gains oppo...

Everyday, we witness the lack of Emotional Intelligence virtually every where. Too many of our government leaders show a lack of empathy for the constituents they serve. Do they not know the meaning of servant hood? Everyday too many lives are loss to drugs and alcohol. Do the users not know the value of a life? Everyday, too many lives are loss at the hands on another, is there no value to life anymore? Almost daily we hear about incidents of mass murders due to hate or terrorism, and it appears this trend to be on the rise

Stress, tension, anxiety and depression seem to be at an all time high, which is probably why, everyday too many youths, teens, youth adults, middle age adults, adults and even seniors take their own lives believing that, to be the only way out of what they may feel to be insurmountable circumstances. Do they not understand that from the dark valleys of our lives come the possibility to rise above almost anything?

Everyday, people are impacted by various misfortu...

According to Jerus (2014), Emotional Intelligence is:

“A set of emotional, social and relational skills that guides the way we perceive, understand and express ourselves; connect with others; manage interpersonal exchange; cope with challenges; and apply emotional information in an effective, meaningful way.”1

That is worth taking time to chew on, dissect and reflect upon, because the implications of emotional intelligence apply to virtually every area of our life. Our feelings and emotions influence interactions with others, responses to situations encountered and ultimately the decisions we make each and every day. This definition is a powerful one and since Emotional Intelligence is a set of emotional, social and relationship skills that guide us in our perceptions, understanding and expression of self and how we connect with others which speak to relationships and our connections with others, not having an above average knowledge of emotional intelligence places one at a disadvan...

" Educating for life requires developing the whole person. This demands empowering both analytic thinking and emotional intelligence. Without both, learning is incomplete.

Robert G. Jerus

"Imagine a world where individual efforts benefit the masses rather than a privileged few. Widespread increase of emotional intelligence can help create such a world."

Ronnie Cunningham

Once I began to really understand the benefits provided by Emotional Intelligence, I was quickly drawn in to its power and the possibilities it brings.  EI not only provides significant benefits, but also mitigates many negatives. I have a background in emergency management and in that field any time one gains benefits and at the same time is able to minimize negative situations, the better off things will be. There are four basic cycles in emergency management;

(1) Prevention/mitigation

(2) Preparedness

(3) Response

(4) Recovery.

Gaining the ability to reap both benefits and mitigate negatives in each of the...

Very few of the world's population have had any significant training in the area of their feelings, emotions and relationships, yet these are areas essential to our well-being and productivity. Not having been trained in these areas, means that we learn by trial and error. Often the lessons learned are very painful, because of their nature. Feelings, emotions and relationships are personal. Assuming that parents do the best they can with what they have; the reality is one cannot give what they do not have. Unfortunately not knowing how to manage our feelings and emotions, can leave us vulnerable and open to misunderstandings in our numerous relationships (family, personal, community or business). For the most part people are not productive, effective or happy during periods of prolonged emotional impairment.

Learning how to identify and manage our feelings and emotions is one of many great needs of humans today. Learning how to nurture and flourish in relationships is also one of many...