While I very rarely share parenting or children’s content, guest contributor Eric Rittmeyer covers a rather large area of topics. The thought of Emotional Intelligence might puzzle you or you might It’s about adults and children: mothers, fathers, children of just about any age and the elderly parents!
The point of Rittmeyer’s concept is that while intelligence is great to have, being emotionally aware and balanced is equally important in any person’s life.. regardless of age. Recognizing how one feels in any situation and how to look at that situation and be able to deal with the situation in an emotionally appropriate way is really not something most people know how to do.
Eric Rittmeyer is a guest expert on achieving “mental toughness” and has provided the article below. He is featured in the video as well.
Stop Pushing College – Start Pushing Emotional Intelligence
By Eric Rittmeyer
There isn’t a single parent that doesn’t want what’s best for their child. Watching them do well in school and getting that dream job is what parenting is all about. Or is it? As a society, we’ve shifted our emphasis way too much onto academic success and way too little on raising loving, caring, kind humans that are strong in basic interpersonal skills. Emotional Intelligence is the answer.
As children, we all went through the same “assembly line.” Go to school, study hard, memorize information and take a test to determine how much data our brains were able to retain. This went on from the time we were tiny children all the way up until we entered early adulthood.
After all those years of “memorizing and regurgitating,” we were then tasked with preparing for the biggest test yet to determine how “successful” we were going to be in our careers – the SAT’s.
Those 3 simple letters made most of us weak in the knees.
“What happens if I don’t score high enough to get accepted into (fill in the college name)?”
“My parents will be so upset if I don’t get a scholarship.”
“What if my best friend scores higher than me and I look dumb?”
The amount of pressure parents place on their children to do well academically has become an epidemic in this country.
Why do I refer to this as an epidemic?
Because in our obsession to raise children that excel academically, we’ve totally neglected the necessity to raise children that also excel emotionally.
Here’s the thing with IQ; you’re pretty much stuck with what you’ve got. We’re all born with our level of intelligence. Can you take some prep courses and study hard to take the SAT and maybe increase your score by a few points?
Sure you can.
But unless you’re a wealthy movie star that can afford to pay someone to take a test on your kids’ behalf, your score isn’t going to fluctuate by too much.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we’re all kind of born either “smart” or “not smart.”
This is where things get very interesting.
For the longest time, it was thought that the kids who got the highest grades and graduated from the best schools would turn out to be the most successful.
There’s only one problem with that theory……it’s not accurate. And even assuming it was accurate, it would be linking “success” to a single variable assessment – if you’re “smart” you’ll get a “better job” which will make you “more money” and in turn make you “more successful.”
That would mean you’d be basing someone’s success solely off of their socioeconomic status, and that’s just crazy talk.
In addition to emphasizing the importance of academic success (which I’m not claiming should be totally disregarded), parents also need to teach their children basic human 101 skills that our educational system doesn’t provide.
I’m referring to emotional intelligence (EQ), and the really awesome thing about EQ is that unlike IQ, anyone can increase their level of emotional intelligence. The simplest definition of EQ is the ability to identify our emotions and understand the powerful effects those emotions have on others.
Our children (and many adults) need to learn how these effects on others should be used to inform and guide our behavior. Instead of focusing solely on passing tests and getting a high GPA, we need to help them develop an awareness of what they’re feeling, and an “emotional vocabulary” to express it.
At some point after stepping out of the security of the school system, they’re going to be put in an environment where emotional control will be the difference between success and failure. This is when they’ll need to understand that while all of their feelings are normal, not all of their actions to those same feelings are acceptable. Withoutthe development of sufficient self-awareness, they won’t possess the interpersonal skills necessary to be able to accept an opposing point of view.
This is a major problem with the current environment we live in today. We’ve become too “intoxicated in emotion”, which prevents us from processing information logically. Once someone disagrees with us, we automatically default to defense mechanisms and assumptions that the opposing person has ill intentions. This is very infrequently the case.
As parents, we need to start teaching our kids basic emotional intelligence skills so we can make certain they grow into loving, caring, well-adjusted adults that can help make this world a better place; regardless of their level of academic success.
Video:
Helping Children Understand How to Handle Their Emotions– Particularly in Uncertain Times.
This video is current and deals with COVID-19 situations.
Whether you are talking to your children, siblings or even elderly relatives, you need to listen to the questions and fears of each person and answer them honestly according to their age and ability to understand the current situation.
Eric Rittmeyer,
Mental Toughness and Emotional Intelligence Expert
For more information on Eric Rittmeyer, please check out his website.
Website: www.MentalToughnessSpeaker.com
Follow Eric Rittmeyer on these social channels:
FaceBook:– www.facebook.com/MentalSpeaker
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ericrittmeyer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MentalSpeaker
Bio of Eric Rittmeyer:
Eric Rittmeyer is a former US Marine and an expert in the fields of mental toughness and emotional intelligence. He’s been a professional speaker for the past decade and is a regular guest on television outlets including Fox, CNN, NBC and ABC.
Eric’s also the author of the recently published book “The Emotional Marine – 68 Mental Toughness and Emotional Intelligence Secrets To Make Anyone Instantly Like You”. He speaks to audiences all over the country, teaching executives and sales professionals how to overcome the limits brought on by fear and emotions, and replace them with clear, concise critical thinking that gets results.
The book, “The Emotional Marine” can be purchased here, or it can be purchased at Amazon.com, BooksaMillion,
and BarnesNoble.com.
Thanks to Eric Rittmeyer for this very interesting (and timely) book. It really
Stevie Wilson,
LA-Story.com
________________________DEALS and STEALS(Affiliate Links)
I curate deals that offer bonuses, bargains, and great products –and some are very specifically for this site to feature to my audience because I want my audience to get amazing products from great brands!
Disclosure: some of the links on this post might have affiliate links! It costs you nothing. If you buy something, the brand pays me a small percentage.
If you purchase via my link, I make a very small percentage for that purchase. It does not add any additional cost to the product. The price you see is the retail price (depending on store or vendor) .
Sunscreens Are Essential in Summer: Try COOLA Full Spectrum 360 Sun Silk Drops SPF 30
COOLA’s breakthrough Sun Silk Drops— your daily Full Spectrum 360° protection from the sun, environmental toxins, and digital overexposure.
Their advanced organic formula is light-as-air yet protects against broad-spectrum UVA/UVB, IR (infrared), and HEV (high energy visible) Light, meaning they’ve got you covered from beach to board meeting. A fast-absorbing complex blend of plant stem cells and patented LightWaves Defense [JS+M] technology helps to prevent visible signs of aging from both indoor and outdoor daily aggressors. Finally, full-spectrum organic skincare that keeps up with your everyday modern lifestyle!
What else you need to know:
This product is formulated without oxybenzone. It is vegan, non-GMO, TSA-friendly, and cruelty-free.
Available at Sephora.com and Coola.com
Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: http://feeds.feedburner.com/la-story/Bpyd
Powered by FeedBurner
If you are going to feature content from LA-Story.com including images, podcasts or videos including the accompanying text, please respect copyright provisions. We require a notation of content origination (meaning credit tag), a link- back to the specific page & please email the link to stevie@la-story.com before the piece goes live.
LA-Story.com, LA-Story Recessionista, Celebrity Stylescope, Celebrity Style Slam Trademark/Copyright: KBP Inc./TNBT Inc 2007-22
