The year 2021 will not be a year for delusional optimism. It is a year when it is prudent to focus on our goals, to maintain perspective and to lead with courage. It will be a year that makes demands but that returns them in kind. It is a year well suited to the synthesis culture, drive and innovative spirit. What is the underlying essence in all this? It’s all about emotional intelligence which stress on ability, capacity, skill, or self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one’s self, of others, and of groups.
Wider areas of intelligence enable or dictate how successful toughness, determination, and vision help achieve our goals. But emotional intelligence, often measured as an emotional intelligence quotient, or EQ, is more and more relevant to important work-related outcomes such as individual performance, organizational productivity, and developing people because its principles provide a new way to understand and assess the behaviours, management styles, attitudes, interpersonal skills, and potential of people. It is an increasingly important consideration in human resource planning, job profiling, recruitment interviewing and selection, learning and skills development, and client relations and customer service, among others. Thus, the Emotional Quotient (EQ) model measures a set of emotional and social skills that influence the way we:
By developing their emotional intelligence, individuals can become more productive and successful at what they do, and help others become more productive and successful too. The process and outcomes of emotional intelligence development also contain many elements known to reduce stress for individuals and therefore organizations by moderating conflict; promoting understanding and relationships; and fostering stability, continuity, and harmony. Last but not least, it links strongly with concepts of love and spirituality.
It is rhetoric to mention here that individuals have different personalities, wants, needs, and ways of showing their emotions. Navigating through this requires tact and shrewdness especially if one hopes to succeed in life. This is where emotional intelligence theory helps. In the most generic framework, five domains of emotional intelligence cover personal (self awareness, self regulation, and self motivation) and social (social awareness and social skills) competences. These are enumerated as:
In brief, the five domains relate to knowing your emotions; managing your emotions; motivating yourself; recognizing and understanding other people’s emotions; and managing relationships, i.e., managing the emotions of others.
After my long stay in Honde Valley, eastern Zimbabwe, allow me to discuss the topic of procrastination. This is inspired by a story of a friend who let opportunity slip through his fingers. While looking for a piece of land, he was offered a 4000m2 plot at a give away price because the seller urgently needed some money to pay off his debts. This friend of mine couldn’t immediately make up his mind deciding to come back later that day. However, when he came back armed with the required sum of money, the plot had already gone to another buyer who went on to re sell it, earning a two fold profit more than what had original been offered.
Everyone procrastinates sometimes, but about 20% of people chronically avoid difficult tasks and deliberately look for distractions which, unfortunately, are increasingly available. Studies show that the 20% don't pay their bills on time; leave Christmas shopping until Christmas Eve; and they miss opportunities for buying a good or commodity at a cheaper price. Procrastination is not trivial, although as a culture we don't take it seriously as a problem. It represents a profound problem of self regulation.
Procrastination, in large part, reflects our perennial struggle with self control as well as our inability to accurately predict how we will feel tomorrow, or the next day. Procrastinators may say they perform better under pressure, but more often than not that’s their way of justifying putting things off.
It must be admitted that procrastination is a bad habit. Opportunity flies by because of procrastination. Yet this is not unusual. The spirit of procrastination haunts everyone. We desire riches or employment; yet how often when opportunity appears before us, the spirit of procrastination from within does urge various delays in grabbing opportunities. In the end, we are our own worst enemies. We need to guard against our own stubborn disposition
The study of history offers two competing outlooks on human nature. On the one hand, the past reveals continuity in our psychological makeup. People, thousands of years ago, were much like we are today. Human foibles, including the tendency to put off vitally important commitments, are universal. Ancient wisdom remains relevant for our confrontation with procrastination.
On the other hand, human attitudes vary profoundly because they are rooted in different cultures. Ideas about success, just like ideas about what is beautiful, are embedded in the larger value systems of different groups. Some nations have a tradition of doubting modernity’s preoccupation with the efficient organisation of time. For them, procrastination is not a problem but a solution!
Numerous admonitions in the Christian Bible also speak to humankind’s perennial tendency to put things off. Jesus taught that reconciling with our adversaries should be done immediately (Matthew 5:23-24). “Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry,” echoes Ephesians 4:26. And in James 4:17 it is proclaimed: “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
From these ancient sources, we learn that procrastination is a spoiler of morality. It is not enough to know what is right. Personal discipline must close the gap between a good intention and a good deed. This is no less true today than in ancient times.
Procrastination is an art that brings doubt and scepticism to unquestioned standards of efficiency. There is, of course, a middle ground here. Deliberate delay can help us realise that certain tasks are not worth pursuing. Some business books advise us that having a “Not To Do” list is as valuable as a “To Do” list. Thus, procrastination for some societies may be something to celebrate. Nonetheless, everyone would agree that when it comes to dealing with harmful addictions, procrastination is the enemy.
Maybe you tell yourself you perform better under pressure. Or that the work you do when you are not feeling in the mood to work isn't very good. Or you think that you cannot do anything well unless you are feeling at the top of your form. For goodness sake, you’ve got the designation of a procrastinator!
It’s not an exaggeration that putting things off creates higher levels of stress and sends all those stress hormones coursing through your body wearing it out faster. And it puts you at risk for poor health because you are just as likely to delay seeking treatment for medical problems as you are to delay everything else. Procrastination actually weakens your immune system. It keeps you awake at night. And it doesn't do a thing for your relationships either. It makes loved ones resentful, because it shifts the burden of responsibility onto them.
Procrastinators are made and not born. This is both the good news and the bad news. Good, because it’s a learned response and what’s learned can be unlearned. The bad news is that while it is possible to change, it takes a lot of psychic energy and you do not necessarily feel transformed internally. It is pertinent to know that some people who think of themselves as procrastinators really aren’t. In a world of unending deadlines, they just put too many things on their “To Do” list. They are not avoiding tasks, the mark of a bona fide procrastinator; they are getting things done, just not as many as they would like.
Procrastinators also actively look for distractions, especially ones that do not take heavy duty commitment on their part. Checking e-mails or playing computer games at work is just about tailor made for this purpose. The dirty little secret is that procrastinators distract themselves as a way of regulating their own emotions, such as fear of failure. Therefore, face it. Some tasks are never going to be cheek slappers no matter how long they marinate or gather dust on your desk. You have got to do them now; and “now” is always the best time.
There are many ways to avoid success in life, but the most certain way to do it is to procrastinate. Procrastinators sabotage themselves. They put obstacles in their own path. They actually choose paths that hurt their performance.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work,” suggests John 9:4.
Blog Article, 14 September, 2015
By Jacob Chikuhwa