Not everybody knows this, but emotional intelligence is crucial for being successful in life. When scientists first started exploring this broad field, they finally realized why people with average IQ outperform those with high IQ 70 percent of the time. This proved that IQ is not the only thing responsible for success. It has been proven that 90 percent of the best performers also have high EQ.

It is still hard to pinpoint what emotional intelligence actually is. It is that “Je ne sais qoui” that everybody has. This intangible component of our character influences our behavior, make decisions and navigate through all situations in life. If you want your EQ to be tested, you will have to pay for the scientifically validated tests. There are tests online which are not formally recognized, but you can try them out without harm. An extensive study of more than a million people’s results have shown that people with high EQ share a number of common behaviors.

For instance, people with high EQ all have a capability of identifying their emotions when they appear. According to Time’s research, only 36 percent of people are able to do that. The rest of the people often come across problems because their emotions are mislabeled, which in return results in poor choices and self-destructive actions. So the key is to pinpoint exactly how you feel – instead os saying that you simply feel “bad”, try to go into more detail, like whether you feel agitated, frustrated, anxious or irritable.

Furthermore, people with high EQ are interested in people around them. That is the result of these people being empathetic. Empathy is considered to be one of the key features people with high emotional intelligence have. In addition, these exceptional people embrace change and are aware that fear of it is paralyzing. And lastly, having high EQ means knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and how to employ them to reach any goal.