Why EQ is More Important than IQ
Yup, you read that correctly.
Your EQ is more important than your IQ.
‘Huh?? What the fuck are you talking about? What is EQ?’
Good question.
And this is a good question because you were never taught about the subject growing up.
Pretty sure if you are like most people, you were only taught IQ.
There’s a certain time in people lives when they take their IQ exam.
Maybe it was when they were a little kid who was just entering school.
Maybe it was when they entered a certain job.
Or heck, maybe it was when they got curious and tried out an online exam.
But once they get the score, they are told it is a set score.
You can’t raise your IQ, they say.
It is a fixed score for life.
Is this the measure of intelligence?
For decades, that is what we have been taught.
But is the human brain that fixated of an entity?
Is intelligence so black & white that you can measure it with a test score?
Ha! That’s laughable.
However, I want to be clear about something.
This article is not me shitting on the IQ exam.
I understand the importance of the IQ test in today’s society.
However, I want to take it a level further.
I want to introduce a new measurement that you have been deprived of in the school system.
It is none other than emotional intelligence.
Your emotional quotient.
Your EQ.
Why is the IQ Exam the Measurement of Intelligence?
Humans love clarity.
Clarity gives us understanding and makes it feel like we solved a problem.
So why should intelligence be any different?
There are billions and billions of humans on this planet.
There must be a way to quantify the processing powers of the human brain, right?
Right!
So the IQ exam was developed.
A structured exam that measures a human’s pattern recognition abilities, critical thinking and reasoning skills.
‘Was the exam successful in accomplishing what it attempted to do?
Yes!
The IQ exam is a brilliant test to measure your critical thinking abilities.
In many ways, it knocked it out of the park.
‘So why is it flawed?’
Because critical thinking is only one element of the Umbrella of Intelligence.
What is Intelligence?
The dictionary definition of intelligence is:
The ability to acquire & apply knowledge & skills.
This simple definition leads massive insight into the world of intelligence.
Critical thinking is simply one building block for intelligence.
The Umbrella of Intelligence:
1. Critical thinking skills
2. Creativity
5. Mental toughness
Picture one skill that you are VERY good at.
Were you able to acquire AND apply it thru critical thinking skills alone?
Fuck no.
· You needed to be able to show the ability to connect dots (creativity).
· You had to regulate past emotions that made you want to quit (emotional intelligence).
· You connected with others to find missing answers (social skills).
· You persevered through the good and the bad (mental toughness).
Does critical thinking play a MASSIVE role in acquiring knowledge? Absolutely.
But in terms of applying?
It requires creativity, emotional intelligence, social skills & mental toughness.
Simply having knowledge without applying is like sticking a key in a lock & never turning it to see what’s behind the door.
Your intelligence can’t be measured by a damn exam.
Your IQ score can, sure.
But from the umbrella of intelligence, bullet points 2-5 are all internal.
And internal leads to ambiguity which is not measurable by an exam.
What’s funny is that some of the most ‘woke’ people are completely unaware of this.
They shit on the school system left and right.
But will take the IQ exam as the only measure of intelligence to their grave.
Cognitive dissonance much?
The IQ exam was implemented by society & reinforced by the school system to clarify the ambiguous nature of human beings.
But when you do that, you simply lead to more questions.
The True Nature of Humans
Not sure if you are aware of this, but humans are emotional creatures, not logical ones.
The emotional states are influenced by a human’s subconscious mind.
And the subconscious mind dictates 95 percent of human behavior.
Therefore, thinking logically is a great gift to possess, but it will only measure a fraction of your ability to thrive in the real world.
That’s where EQ comes in.
‘But Armani, I thought you said the internal world cannot be measured by society?’
That is true.
But the internal world can be measured by the person themselves.
Knowledge can be measured externally.
Awareness must be measured internally.
There is no test to measure your awareness.
But awareness is the CORE principle of EQ.
How to Measure your EQ
Here is my definition of EQ:
EQ is measured by the self awareness of an individual to gauge their ability to showcase emotional literacy, ability to regulate emotions & understand the emotional states of others.
In order to self assess your own EQ, you are bringing awareness (which is stored in the conscious mind) to your internal emotions (which is stored by your subconscious mind).
You are bridging together your 2 minds.
As a beginner, I want you to be aware, honest & analyze.
For the following three steps, measure where you stand from a score of 1-10.
1 being awful & need massive improvement to 10 being great & have a strong grasp.
1. The ability to regulate your emotions.
Are you able to turn destructive emotions into positive fuel?
Life is going to be a game of coexisting with your emotions.
It doesn’t matter if you are the smartest test taker in the world.
If you are someone who is always clouded with anxiety, you will not get far.
It’s like trying to drive a shiny car with a busted engine.
Doesn’t work.
Your ability to control your emotions with your mind (emotional intelligence) will dictate your success.
Can you change states at will?
Score yourself 1-10.
2. The ability to understand others emotions.
How well can you read the emotional states of other humans?
You’ve heard the phrase, your net worth will be determined by your net work.
Understand that HUMANS ARE NOT LOGICAL CREATURES.
As Dale Carnegie said in his blockbuster book How to Win Friends & Influence People:
When dealing with humans, we are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.
Your logical IQ thinking goes straight out the window when dealing with humans.
IQ thinking: If I do A, I will get B,C,D.
EQ feeling: If I do A, I may get Q, R, V, D.
Rate your ability to understand emotional states from 1-10.
3. Emotional Literacy
How well can you put precise words to ambiguous emotions?
When you just feel an emotion & react, you are operating with the amygdala.
-The center of the brain responsible for perception of emotions like anger, irritation & fear.
When you feel an emotion & are able to logically verbalize it, you involve your prefrontal cortex.
-The part of the brain that deals with regulation of emotions.
The more nuance you can add to your emotions, the more emotional intelligence you possess.
Are you just angry?
Or are you irritated with a tad bit of disappointment due to lack of sleep which is making you angry?
Big difference.
Measure your emotional literacy from 1-10.
Tally up your final score and measure out of 50.
This exercise will get your awareness onto your strengths & areas of improvement.
Why EQ is More Important than IQ
As I stated earlier, IQ is important for acquiring knowledge.
But EQ is important for applying knowledge.
In the school system, you are measured by your ability to score well on tests.
But in the real world, you are measured by your ability to work with people.
Look at everyone at the top.
They have the ability to WORK with people.
That’s how the human race progresses.
‘What about a very techie role like coding?’
Same thing.
Your IQ will help you learn the frameworks, structures & process for coding.
Step 1 is a very logical process.
But then ask yourself.
Who are you designing the code for?
You are designing it for a consumer.
Therefore, you need to be able to assess their needs & empathize with their pain points.
Emotional intelligence.
Anything that you learn in life, you will notice that it is first learned with your logical brain.
But after practicing for a while, it becomes intuition & controlled by your emotional brain.
Life is a game of working with people.
I don’t make the rules, I simply share it.
So amplify your knowledge.
But make sure you have the emotional intelligence to be able to apply it.
Leveraging your EQ & IQ
Having a high IQ with shitty EQ is like having a great product with shitty marketing.
It really is that simple.
Don’t use your IQ as a crutch to display how ‘smart’ you are.
You are only smart when your ideas are producing results for other people.
It doesn’t matter how great your brain is if your heart is in disarray.
So apply the 3 step formula, analyze your self assessed EQ score & see where you stand.
By clarifying your internal world, you will feel 10x better.
And fixing your energy allows you to fix the energy that you send to the world.
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.
It’s not how many people you know, it’s how many people know you.
Humans never made sense.
But that’s what makes learning the subject so damn compelling.
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– ArmaniTalks 🎙️🔥
