How Emotions Affect Success

YOUR TURN

Write and Reflect

Write a description of yourself as a successful person ten years after you graduate. What kinds of skills will you have? Don’t just focus on your degree or a job description; include the EI competencies that help explain why you have become successful.

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Emotions are strongly tied to physical and psychological well-being. For example, some studies have suggested that cancer patients who have strong EI live longer than those with weak EI. People who are aware of the needs of others tend to be happier than people who are not. A large study done at the University of Pennsylvania found that the best athletes do well in part because they’re extremely optimistic. Even if they face tremendous obstacles or have the odds stacked against them, emotionally intelligent people nonetheless go on to succeed.