Emotional Intelligence Essentials for Long-Term Relationship Success

Before we dig into this deep topic, let’s dive in with a definition of emotional intelligence.

From Psychology Today

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. Emotional intelligence is generally said to include at least three skills: emotional awareness, or the ability to identify and name one’s own emotions; the ability to harness those emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problem solving; and the ability to manage emotions, which includes both regulating one’s own emotions when necessary and helping others to do the same.

Emotional Intelligence in a Long-term Relationship

There are three parts to emotional intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence part 1: Identifying your own emotions

Are you able to feel your emotions and own them as your own? Yes we get triggered by others (being cut off in traffic, for example) but feeling and tagging those emotions can take a bit more effort. When I am cut off in traffic I feel my anger immediately, but then I identify feeling and label it anger. It is important to tag emotions as they are happening, so…