A lack of emotional awareness or emotional intelligence results in serious shortcomings and problems. It was found that 59% of recruiters do not recruit those candidates with low emotional intelligence. Similarly, other disadvantages of low emotional awareness are:

• Decreased problem-solving ability
• Increased arguments 
• Reduced openness to new experiences 
• Peaked emotional tantrums
• Multiple excuses 
• Constantly blaming behavior

In view of all these problems, it is clear how important the development of emotional awareness is for progressing in one’s life. Emotional awareness is at the base of all kinds of insights. It helps with mental, physical, social, and spiritual awareness. There are several benefits of emotional awareness and multiple ways to develop it which can be achieved through Farskill’s courses.

Boost Your Self-Awareness

The link between emotional awareness and self-awareness becomes clear when the individual digs deeper. Self-awareness means that a person is aware of their short-term goals, long-term goals, values, motivation, and life principles. Additionally, highly self-aware individuals also have insight into their emotions and the purpose of their lives. Similarly, emotional awareness means that a person is aware of their emotional life. It takes bravery and acceptance to face one’s unpleasant emotions. Nevertheless, all human emotions have a purpose. According to Paul Ekman, there are six basic human emotions of joy, anger, sadness, disgust, fear, and surprise. Moreover, according to new research, there is a seventh universal emotion of contempt. Hence, the daily effort to boost one’s self-awareness is imperative for developing emotional awareness. 

Enhance Self-Regulation Skills 

Self-regulation is an umbrella term for various kinds of modifications that an individual can do. It comprises thought, behavior, and also emotional regulation. Thought regulation is about dealing with limiting negative beliefs and one’s thought biases. For example, a no-can-do attitude, catastrophic thoughts, mind-reading attempts, quick judgments, and rigid thoughts. 

Behavior regulation is about dealing with behaviors that harm oneself and others e.g. reckless driving, money spending, suicidal attempts, and others. 

Emotional regulation is about their modification according to a situation. For example, an individual feels stressed in a traffic jam so they can turn on mood-lifting music. In this way, they will be able to manage their stress effectively. Some benefits of self-regulation are an upgrade in academic performance, a boost in resilience, productivity at the workplace, and many more. 

Increase Social Awareness 

Social awareness in this context means knowing how to connect with people. One of the best ways to connect with people is through emotions and the expression of empathy. Empathy is about connecting with others emotionally, looking at the world from their perspective, and validating their experiences. It is different from sympathy because sympathy is just about acknowledging the feelings of others. 

In a 2007 paper, it was found out that empathy had a positive association with performance at the workplace. Leaders of the organization gave positive evaluations of empathic managers. Other benefits of empathy for social awareness include 

• Increase in empathic listening skills
• Stronger social bonds
• Upgrade in altruistic behavior

Polish Social Skills 

Social skills are conflict resolution ability, teamwork, and the ability to positively influence others. Good social skills help maintain the quality of relationships. Social skills matter a lot at home and at the workplace. Within a home context, communication skills can make or break a relationship. Unproductive communication patterns include criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and stonewalling. 

According to Dr. Gottman, criticism is about finding faults in the partner. Defensiveness means blaming others and never taking responsibility for one’s actions. Contempt can be observed when somebody speaks to others from a high moral position. Finally, stonewalling means a gap in communication due to emotional overwhelm. Dr. Gottman also gave their antidotes to save one’s relationships as these communication behaviors deeply damage a relationship. The correct behaviors are

• Criticism dealt with by assertiveness
• Contempt tackled with respect and appreciation
• Defensiveness is managed by taking responsibility
• Stonewalling can be corrected by engaging in self-care

Within a workplace context, social skills become extremely important for team building, productivity, boosting the morale of team members, and effective decision-making for the progress of the organization. 

In a 2017 article, some communication skills for success at the workplace were mentioned. These skills included effective listening, good non-verbal communication, clear and concise message, politeness, self-confidence, expression of empathy, respect, and open-mindedness. Hence, social skills are important for a person in any setting. 

Opt For Meditation 

Meditation is about staying in the present moment and developing personal awareness. For this, the user practices different physical movements and breathing practices. During a meditation session, the individual learns to observe their thoughts and feelings without judgment. It creates a kind and compassionate approach so, a person is able to face their unpleasant emotions. 

Multiple studies have reported the benefits of meditation for the mind and body. Mental benefits of meditation include improvement in focus and concentration, reduction in the symptoms of depression and anxiety, resolution of sleep issues, and increase in life satisfaction. 

For the body, meditation helps with boosting the immune system, lowering blood pressure, and improving the symptoms of heart disease. 

Additionally, there are different types of meditation that can help any individual. For example, mindfulness, loving-kindness, Tai chi, yoga, and Qigong. 

“I learned a few years ago that balance is the key to a happy and successful life, and a huge part of achieving that balance is to instill rituals into your everyday life - a nutritious balanced diet, daily exercise, time for yourself through meditation, reading, journaling, yoga, daily reflection, and setting goals.”- Gretchen Bleiler

Conclusion

To conclude, the significance of emotional awareness has become clear because of its several advantages. Some habits that can boost emotional awareness are practicing self-awareness, upgrading self-regulation skills, boosting social awareness, and social skills. There are several benefits of developing emotional awareness such as enhanced self-confidence, improved relationships, upgraded productivity, openness to new experiences, and increased problem-solving ability. Additionally, meditation significantly helps with developing emotional awareness and its importance cannot be neglected.