We cannot take care of others unless we take care of ourselves first. This holds true professionally, personally and physically. Being in a healthy state can move mountains. It’s more than happiness and life satisfaction. It gives you control over your life, a sense of purpose, and best of all, the experience of positive relationships.
Well-being is linked to success at professional, personal and interpersonal levels. There are endless studies to be found that prove there is no sole determinant of individual well-being but is dependent upon good health and positive relationships.
Emotional Intelligence (IQ)
Emotional intelligence, in my opinion, is far more important when relating to others than IQ (Intelligent Quotient). EQ is a concept associated with your ability to control, evaluate, and perceive emotions. It can be learned over time. Emotional awareness is part of EQ. This is when you can identify your own and others’ emotions and have the ability to harness and manage them.
Emotional intelligence has four factors:
- Perceiving emotions
- Understanding emotions
- Reasoning with emotions
- Managing emotions
Stress Management
To manage stress, you must understand what it is: any chemical, emotional or physical factor that causes either bodily or mental unrest. Stress can make you stronger if you learn to identify when extra attention is needed.
Brene Brown’s most recent book, Atlas of the Heart, talks about stress as “being in the weeds”. Being in the weeds and pulling out of the weeds when you feel beyond the ability to cope successfully requires enormous energy. And having a healthy life and lifestyle makes digging out easier.
Collectively, the world has gone through a stressful situation thanks to the pandemic. It was horrible; having our lives halted for an indefinite period. But we’ve come a long way from this bumpy ride, and now many are seeing positives from this exhausting nightmare.
Stress will always exist but there are ways to learn to manage and minimize it. Here are some techniques to manage stress:
- Relaxation techniques, such as yoga, guided imagery, biofeedback, tai chi
- Time management skills
- Counselling
- Exercise
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
The key to a long life is happiness. Have you ever watched happy people? They live life to the fullest. They are prepared for life and enjoy it.
Only you can make yourself happy. Others can help but it is you who truly decides whether you live as a happy person or a sad person.
I’m reminded of a 1998 Movie starring Robin Williams, called Patch Adams. This great movie is based on the true heroic story of Dr. Patch Adams and his quest to change America’s healthcare system. He ventured where no doctor had ventured before, using humour and pathos. I highly recommend seeing it.
Make the decision and decide you want happiness. Have fun in life; try new things and be adventurous. Laughter is known to help increase a person’s health, as proven by Dr. Patch Adams, so laugh out loud, and do it often!
- Accept that life is not perfect.
- Do not take yourself too seriously.
- Appreciate yourself.
- Make sure you set goals (Self-leadership, Part 2) that mean something to you.
Personal Effectiveness
You are the person that will make all the difference in your life. You choose to use all the resources at your disposal or ignore them. Take a look at your life and you will see all the personal resources available to you, like energy, knowledge, attitude, creativity, skills, talent and time. All of these can be used to help you achieve personal and professional goals.
