Mindfulness is the foundation of Emotional Intelligence

If you are looking to increase your Emotional Intelligence to be a better leader, business owner or corporate executive, the best way to achieve this goal is to focus on mindfulness.  Mindfulness is a practice that doesn't take much time or energy but reaps big rewards and is a building block for other emotional intelligence skills.

Emotional Intelligence is a set of skills that effective leaders possess.  This skill set allows leaders to overcome challenges effectively and learn and grow from them. We see examples of these leaders and their leadership every day, but we may wonder, how did these people become great leaders? How did they acquire these skills? And more importantly, how can we do the same?

Successful and effective leaders have honed a skillset collectively called Emotional Intelligence.  High Emotional Intelligence is a result of proficiency in the following five competencies: self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation and social skills.  When our skillset is proficient in these competencies, we are able to control our thought and emotions, keep ourselves motivated and resolve conflict in our relationships

The good news is that anyone can learn these skills and begin applying them in their business or career right away.  Bu there is one skill out of all these skills that is the foundation for all the rest.  That skill is nonjudgmental awareness, and the best way to practice this skill is through mindfulness.

Mindfulness increases our awareness around our thoughts and emotions.  Mindfulness is being focused on the present moment, whatever task we might be doing.  Mindfulness can also be described as being in the flow, that state when we are consumed by what we are doing. When  we are immersed in doing  something we love, such as dancing, running, playing a musical instrument, creating a piece of artwork, (the list could go on forever) we tend to get lost in the activity, because our attention is just solely focused on that moment. We're not thinking, we're not judging, we are just in the moment.

This practice of being in the moment keeps us from worrying about the future or ruminating about the past. The biggest benefit of mindfulness is when it is intentionally practiced without judgment.

When we practice non-judgemental awareness during mindfulness activities, we remain open and curious to what we can learn or create. This non-judgemental awareness is crucial when it comes to solving problems and challenges.  It's crucial to self-regulating our emotions. And it is an essential ingredient for empathy.

But, what does nonjudgmental awareness look like? It's simply noticing those critical or judgemental thoughts and dismissing them. It's saying, "I see you, but you can go now." It's awareness of these thoughts but without attaching to them.

Critical, judgemental thoughts come up for us all the time, it's just the way our brains are hardwired.  But we don't have to accept these thoughts, and it's best for us if we don't accept them.  By not accepting them we are increasing our ability to self regulate our emotions and to demonstrate empathy.