The Basics of Emotional Intelligence Include:
 

• Knowing your feelings and using them to make life decisions you can live with.
• Being able to manage your emotional life without being hijacked by it -- not being paralyzed by depression or worry, or swept away by anger.
• Persisting in the face of setbacks and channeling your impulses in order to pursue your goals.
• Empathy -- reading other people's emotions without their having to tell you what they are feeling.
• Handling feelings in relationships with skill and harmony -- being able to articulate the unspoken pulse of a group, for example.