Emotional Intelligence

I was invited to McNab's first motivational meet up and author Stephanie Vermeulen was there to talk to us about emotional intellegence and kick start off these motivational meetups.

I took along my friend and fellow double lung transplantee Alice and we both really enjoyed Steph's down to earth approach towards emotions. Of course going through something as traumatic and life changing as a transplant I believe we both have a very developed sense of emotions which lead to us really being able to relate and contribute to the talk.

EQ book

We were each given Steph's book to take home, admittedly I haven't started reading it yet but will definitely start soon. In the meantime there is a great emotional dictionary at the back which I have flipped through. Such a great feature for those who's emotions tend to be all over the place.

If you can't handle your own emotions, you can't expect others to handle them either! 

A few lessons we learnt from Stephanie include the following:

"Emotions are messages that give us feedback about what's going on in our lives"

"Happiness is being filled with energy"

"Emotions are feedback on the decisions we've made"

"When we're happy our energy 'traffic' flows easily between physical and psychological state"

"Energy and power are the same thing, the most powerful people are people with the most energy"

Another thing that Steph said that we found rather interesting is that we become addicted to our moods. The mood we are constantly in becomes our natural state and it's very difficult to change that. This is why depression is so hard to overcome, our brain becomes addicted to feeling depressed and as with any addiction it takes a long time to reverse it. 

Maybe that's why our mom's always told us not to frown "because if the wind changes you will always have that frown." 

McNab's also have some great advice on their #100WaysToEnergy blog. Here are a few of their tips to beat burn out blues during this crazy year end rush! 

1. Relax - Take your relaxation time seriously. Have a bath, go for a walk, listen to your favourite music, and spend time with friends and family.

2. Find a hobby - Whether it’s sports, volunteering, baking, photography, or anything that you’re passionate about, keep yourself busy with fun activities outside of work.

3. Go offline - In the digital age we find ourselves in, we need to create digital boundaries. Don’t allow work stressors to seep into your down time. Also try to switch off your TV and close your browser for a few hours each day.

4. Get in enough Zzz’s - Sleep can help you deal with stressful events, improve your memory and cognitive functions, and increase your motivation. Beat insomnia with a few of our tips.

5. Write a to-do list - There’s nothing worse than that niggly feeling that you’ve forgotten something. Write a to-do list to set your mind at ease and help you prepare for the weeks ahead.

6. Plan something fun -There’s nothing better to create positive energy than to have something to look forward. Whether you plan a picnic with friends on the weekend or book a massage, planning fun things helps those last few weeks of the year feel a little more exciting.

McNab's also have lovely daily Motivational Quotes you can look at or subscibe to!

Thank-you McNab's and Stephanie Vermeulen for the great afternoon!