l My emotional IQ l

| Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2003 || 3:57 p.m. |

Emotional IQ~ 126

You are very comfortable expressing your emotions and often think in terms of how things make you feel rather than how they affect you intellectually. Your decisions are similarly guided, and you follow your heart rather than your mind. You cry and laugh easily, letting each of life's experiences wash over you fill force, with no emotional filters. If someone you know makes an insensitive comment that has hurt your feelings, you would take action. Instead of just brushing it off or acknowledging that it hurt you but not saying anything, you would talk to that person and explain how the comment made you feel. It is very important for you to be completely open with your emotions and arrive at deep emotional bonds with the people you love.

You have a difficult time following through on plans, projects and chores. You might have a burning desire to take up some sort of hobby, but then lack the motivation to keep it up. You are not especially ambitious, feeling content and safe at a certain professional or personal level even when you know you could achieve more. You tend to procrastinate, leave things to the last minute and then feeling that you are in a constant state of catch up just to keep up with the bare minimum. The reasons for the low motivation are many. It could be that you honestly feel content with what you have and don't feel the need to always carve more out of life. Or, you may feel too overwhelmed and disorganized to take concrete steps in achieving more in life. Most likely, however, you lack the self-confidence to take risks and chances in life: The desire to do more might be there, but the fearlessness to take that final plunge is what you need to cultivate.

You are not very aware of your own feelings, motivations and desires. You don't examine why you do the things you do or whether your motivations are selfless or selfish. You may have a perception of yourself that does not jive with the way others perceive you. Perhaps you tend to place other people�s necessities, values and problems above your own, or, conversely you may manipulate other in subtle ways without realizing you are doing so. Whatever the end result of your actions, you are out of touch of with whom you are inside. Not being self aware has many ramifications: you may not feel as much passion as you could for the things you do because you have not sat down and really examined your life and goals.

You are extremely adept at reading other people's body language, and are able to decipher subtle clues in the way they look and act. You instinctually know when people are uncomfortable, embarrassed, angry or sad even if they try hard to conceal their emotions. You pick up on nearly all of the facial expressions, body language gestures and tones that make up non-verbal communications, and therefore you are more likely to gather what a person's true feelings are. You tend to do well in social situations, job interviews and presentations: This is because you possess a powerful skill that gives you a distinct edge over most other people.