What will define your success: IQ or EQ?

by Martin Jacob Equip2go

This is a very complex topic involving three very important terms – Success, Intelligence Quotient, and Emotional Quotient. Therefore to fully understand this article, we need to understand each term properly.

Success – This is a very relative term. There can be achievements you are not satisfied with which might be a dream for someone else. So success is a very personalized thing. It may also refer to both professional as well as personal achievements. For example – becoming CEO is a success, gaining 20 pounds in a year is a success, etc.

Intelligence quotient – It is a kind of score that one gets after completing a series of tests that assesses a person’s intelligence. The test may include reasoning, mathematics, logical thinking, etc. This test is done to find out how much a person knows and how he utilizes his knowledge to solve a problem. A student with a high IQ can apply for online transcripts on his own whereas a student with a low IQ might not. The important elements of IQ are:

· Using logic to solve different problems

· Great planning and strategizing skill

· Quick learner and good memory

· Understanding complex patterns and ideas easily

Emotional Quotient – Emotional quotient is another factor that can define a human’s success. It measures another set of skills such as how good you are at controlling your emotions, how you carry yourself in every situation, how you communicate, how you feel, etc. While high IQ can be important in getting success in professional life, high EQ can help to find peace in one’s personal life. A student with low EQ who doesn’t receive his transcript certificate on time may get frustrated but a student with high EQ will not. A few important elements of EQ are:

· Identifying emotions within oneself

· Understanding others emotions and responding accordingly

· Controlling your impulses

· Effective communication skill

· Easily managing feelings in different situations, etc.

So which is more important to become successful in life?

The good thing about IQ and EQ is, they are scales and not a benchmark. There is no minimum score required to become successful. Moreover, with practice and training, a person can improve them also. Just like the student with a low IQ can also learn how to apply for an online transcript on his own. And the student with low EQ can also learn to manage his emotions by doing meditation and yoga. So he will also not get frustrated if doesn’t receive his transcript certificate on time and find another way to deal with it. Therefore we can conclude both IQ and EQ are important to maintain a balance between happy (personal) and successful (professional) life.

So now when we understand all these three terms, we can also conclude that there is no fixed formula for success. Life is all about balance, ups, and downs, success and failure. Life is an individual journey with different milestones and not a public race with different checkpoints. So use your IQ and EQ to grow yourself. Cheers!