What Makes Me Tick?
Personality,Emotions, and Social/Emotional Intelligence
Collette Jolley * 2nd Period Psychology
My Personality
I have social anxiety which I attribute to my upbringing of being raised by an introvert and going to a very small secluded private school.When I was younger I was extremely shy because of these reasons and would hardly talk to anyone, including my family. I thought that this meant that I was definitely introverted but after learning about the true meanings on introversion and extroversion I believe that I'm more extroverted. I really enjoy socializing with friends and it energizes me to be around them which falls more under extroversion. At first I am uncomfortable with new people, which is to be expected, but after time I open myself up and thrive on those connections.
Even though I believe I am more extroverted I still have many qualities of introversion as well. Such as my fear of change or taking new risks. I know that I need to get over these fears so that I will be able to accomplish more and learn through the experiences. Since starting high school I feel that I have progressed in this area though. I now take more chances and I am more open than I was to trying new things or meeting new people. As I continue to get older I know that I will have to grow so that I don’t miss out on opportunities. I plan to help myself to grow by putting myself out there and taking healthy risks so in the future I can say that my personality changed for the better.
My Emotions
I have trouble expressing certain emotions because of my personality. I tend not to show emotions like anger or sadness around my friends because I do not want them to be troubled by them or feel bad for me. I express emotions like happiness easier because I am more comfortable with people perceiving me as someone who is constantly in a good mood.
Around my family I let out my other repressed emotions during arguments or stressful times. This is because I know that I can’t hide all of my emotions from people who I have been around constantly. Growing up my parents were accustomed to only showing emotions like anger or sadness. After my parents divorced and I wasn't in a situation where there were negative emotions were constantly projected I was in a happier environment. I think that my need to express only “good emotions” comes from the desire to be surrounded by positivity since I was predominately raised around negative emotions.
Social/Emotional Intelligence
I believe that nature and nurture have both played a role in my social/emotional intelligence. I think this because I can attribute certain mannerism , such as not wanting to trouble others with negative emotions I have, to how I was raised, but some of my emotional intelligence is biological.
Before taking a test to score social/emotional intelligence I thought that I was very intelligent in these areas but my scores showed otherwise. In the areas I thought I would be strongest turned out to be my weakest. Since taking the test I have been able to determine what skills I need to work on and the skills that I can use to my advantage. I found that in categories that involved myself I scored low. I think that this is accurate because of how I have trouble expressing myself or realizing when I am stressed . Under the category of social awareness I scored very high and this is shown through my intuitive nature.
In order to improve my social/emotional intelligence I will reflect more on myself and try to be more open with my emotions. Instead of bottling my emotions up I will let them out in a healthy way. Also to strengthen my self-awareness I will think more about my actions and what I say. Since my score involving relationships was also low I’ll think more about how my emotions can affect others and how I can improve my relationships by using social and emotional intelligence.
My Future Story
Now that I understand what social/emotional intelligence is and how to use it, I think that I’ll be better at controlling my emotions. Learning about social/emotional intelligence has helped me to know myself better, what my strengths and weakness are.I haven’t had much experience with controlling or strengthening my social/emotional intelligence yet because I've only been made aware of it recently, but I plan to do emotional exercises so I can improve it, which will help myself in my future.
Being able to control my emotions and manage my relationships properly will be essential skills in my future. I'll be able to work well with others and know how to act in certain situations which will help me to excel in a workplace. I also believe that having a higher emotional/social intelligence will make me a better person in general because i will be healthier mentally. Now that my knowledge on my social/emotional intelligence has been expanded, I plan to apply the tips used to strengthen it to my everyday life so that I can control my emotions and stop them from holding me back.