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Excerpt from Emotional Intelligence
by Daniel Goleman
What seems to set apart those at the very top of competitive pursuits from others of roughly equal ability is the degree to which, beginning early in life, they can pursue an arduous practice routine for years and years. And that doggedness depends on emotional traits - enthusiasm and persistence in the face of setbacks - above all else.
The added payoff for life success from motivation, apart from other innate abilities, can be seen in the remarkable performance of Asian students in American schools and professions. One thorough review of the evident suggests that Asian-American children may have an average IQ advantage over whites of just two or three points. Yet on the basis of the professions, such as law and medicine, that many Asian-Americans end up in, as a group they behave as though their IQ were much higher - the equivalent of an IQ of 110 for Japanese Americans and of 120 for Chinese-Americans. The reason seems to be that from the earliest years of school, Asian children work harder than whites. Sanford Dorenbusch, a Stanford sociologist who studied more than ten thousand high-school students, found that Asian-Americans spent 40 percent more time doing homework than did other students. "While most American parents are willing to accept a child’s weak areas and emphasize the strengths, for Asians, the attitude is that if you’re not doing well, the answer is to study later at nights, and if you still don’t do well, to get up and study earlier in the morning. They believe that anyone can do well in school with the right effort". In short, a strong cultural work ethic translates into higher motivation, zeal, and persistence - an emotional edge.
To the degree that our emotions get in the way of or enhance our ability to think and plan, to pursue training for a distant goal, to solve problems and the like, they define the limits of our capacity to use our innate mental abilities, and so determine how we do in life. And to the degree to which we are motivated by feelings of enthusiasm and pleasure in what we do - or even by an optimal degree of anxiety - they propel us to accomplishment. It is in this sense that emotional intelligence is a master aptitude, a capacity that profoundly affects all other abilities, either facilitating or interfering with them.
Daniel Goleman Ph.D is the author of Emotional Intelligence- Why it can matter more than IQ. Mr. Goleman covers the behavioral and brain sciences for The New York Times and his articles appear throughout the world in syndication.
Emergingleader.com sincerely thanks Dr. Goleman for allowing us to provide an excerpt from his book to inspire the leaders of today and those emerging to accept new challenges for the future.
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