Courses

What is emotional intelligence—and how do we unlock its practical power? Emotional intelligence, or emotional quotient (EQ), is the ability to be aware of, manage, and express our emotions, and relate to those of others. These terms are recent, but humans have explored our emotional versus rational natures since the advent of writing. Some modern psychologists see humans as “rational riders upon emotional elephants.” The logical rider guides and influences the mighty and sometimes unpredictable emotional elephant.

Recent decades have brought a revolution in our understanding of EQ, thanks to groundbreaking research in decision-making, motivation, influence, and interpersonal connection. Despite that progress, developing and applying EQ can remain elusive. We will explore emotional intelligence in two ways: First, we will peek through the lenses of ancient philosophy (both Eastern and Western), mindfulness, yoga, sports and performance psychology, advertising, and behavioral economics and finance. Second, we’ll experience some practical methods to work with our unconscious emotional selves, such as meditation, journaling, somatic body practices (exercise and simply walking), working with habits and cues, or interpersonal dialogue.

Our approach will stay light and fun. We will not attempt to retrain our proverbial elephants within a few weeks. Instead, we will embark on an exploration, uncovering simple yet effective ways to understand and access the power of our emotional selves.