Intelligence is your ability to learn, and it’s the same at age 15 as it is at age 50.

call someone’s bluff.

Good decisions require far more than factual knowledge. They are made using self-knowledge and emotional mastery when they’re needed most.

Because your mind and body are so tightly connected, one of the most effective ways to understand your emotions as they are happening is to learn how to spot the physical changes that accompany your emotions.

EQ, on the other hand, is a flexible skill that can be learned.

You do control the thoughts that follow an emotion, and you have a great deal of say in how you react to an emotion—as long as you are aware of it.

Personal competence is made up of your self-awareness and self-management skills, which focus more on you individually than on your interactions with other people. Personal competence is your ability to stay aware of your emotions and manage your behavior and tendencies.

Emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.

The more you think about what you are feeling—and do something productive with that feeling—the more developed this pathway becomes.