THE SKILL OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIgence is simply the ability to recognize your feelings and understand how you’re responding to them—and do it without judging yourself, says psychologist Susan David, Ph.D., a Harvard Medical School lecturer and the author of Emotional Agility. Ever stared at passing clouds or observed an army of ants hustling around in the dirt? It’s like that but with your feelings. Emotional intelligence is also known as EQ, or “emotional quotient”—like an IQ for stuff that’s harder to measure.
At its best, EQ might look like this: Over dinner, your partner makes a remark about wanting to grab your “love handles.”
