Improve Your Emotional Intelligence

Breathing

Breathing techniques are essential for regulating emotional states. Rob Dial emphasizes the importance of deep, conscious breathing to trigger the body's relaxation response. He shares a Japanese study from Oshawa University showing that six deep breaths over 30 seconds can lower blood pressure and heart rate 1.

Our breath rate, the depth, the pattern is the first thing to change when your emotional state changes.

--- Rob Dial

Rob also suggests practicing this during workouts to train the body to shift from a heightened state to a calm state 1.

   

Self-Soothing

Self-soothing methods are crucial for emotional regulation. Rob points out that many people are not taught how to manage their emotions effectively, often due to generational gaps in emotional education 2. He explains that self-soothing involves pausing before reacting to strong emotions, allowing for a more measured response.

Between stimulus and response, there's a space. And in that space lies our freedom and our power to choose our responses.

--- Viktor Frankl, as quoted by Rob Dial

Rob encourages breaking the cycle of poor emotional management by becoming more adept at self-soothing techniques 2.