This book was quite interesting. A little different from authors such as John Bradshaw or Alice Miller but I still enjoyed the book. Mr. Goleman brought a scientific view to our emotions and the process they go through in different parts of our brain. He coined the term emotional intelligence, the ability to excel in your personal life through a process of being able to recognize and understand your emotions. Mr. Goleman felt that emotional intelligence was more important than intelligence quotient or IQ in our daily personal interactions, and laid out a very compelling case of the measurable benefits that a person with a solid foundation of EI could bring to their life.
The most intriguing part of the book for me was the fact that emotional intelligence is now taught in some elementary schools. I wish they had something like that for me as a child, and I even think they should teach us those same basic skills here in prison. We could have a self-science class here for many guys that never understood their emotions or ways to express. them in a positive and productive way. We could use the same components and have applied on an adult level.
The list of skills we would learn: self-awareness, personal decision-making, managing feelings, handling stress, empathy, communications, self-disclosure, insight, self-acceptance, personal responsibility, assertiveness, group dynamics, and conflict resolution. All essential to being emotionally mature adults. Luckily a lot of the self-help classes they are offering here at Solano address a lot of these same themes. All the above-mentioned emotional skills will go a long way towards making me a more complete, healthy, well-rounded individual and so I am resolved to participate in as many self-help classes as possible.
