Book Review of Emotional Intelligence

I happily recommend the book, Emotional Intelligence: why emotions are great tools but bad bosses by Diane Weston.  This is a self-help book that is easy to read and broken into logical sections like a free flowing conversation.

I really like how the author lays out different examples to show how we may react with different levels of emotional intelligence and various skills. Readers can either identify themselves in these quick examples, or think about others in these scenarios. The imagery of these examples is vivid allowing the reader to instantly picture the scene, but short and not drawn out or scolding. 

The heading on page 21, sums up the concept of this book, “Emotion as a Tool is what Emotional Intelligence is all About.” We all have emotions, but it is how we direct and use these emotions. It is how we use control our emotions not letting them control us. Integrating this heading along with the Four R’s of emotional intelligence (Recognition, Regulation, Reading Signals, and Responding) would set everyone up to be successful.

This book is easy to read, like having a conversation with someone. There are easy examples, good guesses about how we probably react to emotions, and simple, direct steps to take to move from our emotions controlling us, to us using our emotions as a tool. This book reads quickly and easily, making change feel attainable for the reader. It is also to go back and reread a section, where we may need a little more work recreating our thinking habits. I would recommend this book to anyone from older teen through all adult ages. The advice is sound and easy to follow.