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who seetheir future as bleak? If so, it‘s probably because of some recent news or
traumatic event, not their past. Even if your past was rough, it is possible to have
a bright outlook if you believe in yourself (next on the list). The past can cripple
you if you live in it. It can hold you back if you believe you‘ve already hit your
ceiling. Or it can teach you if you examine it. If you want to be an optimist, let your
past become weightless life lessons. It‘s a
choice.
3. Optimists Are Confident In Themselves
Confidence is a determining factor for optimism and pessimism. Optimists believe
they can overcome whatever life throws at them and continue on their way.
Pessimists don‘t believe this, and so are ―victims‖ of circumstance. If you lack
confidence, you might be a pessimist for the simple reason that you don‘t believe
you can do it. The best way to fix this problem is to learn the skills you need in
order to succeed. Change your definition of success to progress and focus on
what you can succeed with now.
Example: You want to write a Best-selling novel, but you‘re pessimistic because
of your current writing ability. Solution: Get better! Change your goal to writing
any book or learning how to write better. Stephen King wrote three full books
before he had one published.Remember, it‘s hard to be pessimistic when you
know you can do it.
4. Optimists See Possibility. Pessimists See Problems.
The positive-minded person says, ―What should I do next? There are so many
exciting options!‖The negative-minded person says, ―What should I do next? I‘ve
got so many problems to deal with!‖Problems are a part of life. I‘ve found it best
to ignore the ones you can‘t do anything about. A pessimist can see an
optimist with the same problems and think, ―well, if they had my issues, they
wouldn‘t be so peppy!‖ It‘s not true. People with all sorts of problems cope with
them and still move their lives in a positive direction.Sometimes the best way to
deal with life‘s problems is to say, ―so what? I‘m deciding to move forward.
‖5. Optimists Have Better, But Shorter Lives
Optimism produces a better life of course… but shorter!? Yes, according to a
recent study. ―Our findings revealed that being overly optimistic in predicting a
better future was associated with a greater risk of disability and death within the
following decade,‖ said lead author Frieder R. Lang, PhD, of the University of
Erlangen Nuremberg in Germany. ―Pessimism about the future may encourage
people to live more carefully, taking health and safety precautions.‖ (study 1)
Before you pronounce optimism dead, take a closer look at how they reached this
conclusion…
―Five years after the first interview, 43 percent of the oldest group had
underestimated their future life satisfaction, 25 percent had predicted accurately
and 32 percent had overestimated, according to the study. Based on the average
level of change in life satisfaction over time for this group, each increase in
overestimating future life satisfaction was related to a 9.5 percent increase in
reporting disabilities and a 10 percent increased risk of death, the analysis
revealed.‖ (study 1) it isn‘t clear which of these people were optimistic or
pessimistic – it just measured their expectations to actual life satisfaction years
later. The people defined as ―overly optimistic‖ could have been slightly
pessimistic and had worse life outcomes than expected. And the people defined
as ―pessimists‖ who underestimated life satisfaction could have been slightly
optimistic and had their expectations exceeded. A different study found that
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optimism seems to protect heart health. ―The most optimistic individuals had an
approximately 50% reduced risk of experiencing an initial cardiovascular event
compared to their less optimistic peers,‖ said Julia Boehm, research fellow in the
Department of Society, Human Development, and Health at HSPH. (Study 2)
And a sense of well-being (clearly connected with optimism) gives many other
benefits…―They found that individuals with a sense of well-being engaged in
healthier behaviors such as exercising, eating a balanced diet, and getting
sufficient sleep. In addition, greater well-being was related to better biological
function, such as lower blood pressure, healthier lipid (blood fat) profiles, and
normal body weight.‖ (Study 2) I believe there is a takeaway point here.
According to this research, realistic expectations help us to make smarter
choices, and general optimism is very good for the mind and body. To go along
with the obvious benefits of an optimistic mindset, it makes sense to be optimistic
about your future, but not to let it blind you to life‘s turbulence. Neither blind
optimism or blind pessimism are good for you.
Q.12) Write a Note on- The Power of Reframing
Answer :
Reframing is a way of looking at events or circumstances and seeing the positive
aspects to them. Reframing often involves tearing down old preconceptions to
discover new ways of looking at things — ―thinking outside the box‖ comes from
reframing. In construction, during a remodeling project, the reframing like you
see in this picture below, can open up whole new areas of a house that were
previously hidden behind old walls. And, when those old walls are torn down,
sometimes treasures of immurement are
revealed. Immurement is the ancient practice of burying or concealing items in
the structure of a house. When remodelling an old home, you might find old
letters, keepsakes, or even cash. Reframing isn‘t about pretending a situation is
great when it may not be. Rather, it‘s about discovering what could be great,
what you could learn by consequence or how you can use the situation to create
a better outcome. Perspective is a powerful thing. When you can reframe a
particular experience or interaction, you can often change what happens as a
result. Human beings tend to attach certain meanings to experiences. We say,
―This happened, so it must mean ______.‖ In actuality, there may be an infinite
number of ways to interpret any experience. We frame the events in our life based
on the ways we‘ve decided to perceive similar experiences in the past, forming
habitual patterns we repeat throughout our entire lives. Are your patterns helping
or harming you? It‘s vital to remember that our perceptions are creative in nature
— if we define something as negative, that‘s the message our brain receives and
responds to by creating an emotional state to reinforce that reality.
Reframing requires seeing something in a new way, in a context that allows us to
recognize and appreciate positive aspects of our situation. Reframing helps us to
use whatever life hands us as opportunities to be taken advantage of, rather than
problems to be avoided. Breakdowns are transformed into challenges and
new possibilities to experience life more fully and to become a more whole human
being. Reframing is the difference between being constantly disappointed and
being consistently satisfied. By stacking positive interpretations, one after the
other, you become the author of the success story of your own life. How would
you feel at bedtime if every day turned out to be ―ideal,‖ ―interesting‖ or even
―amazing?‖ It‘s closer than you think. One example of reframing is redefining a
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problem as a challenge. Such a redefinition activates a different way of being.

Problem has a heavy quality to it, while the notion of a challenge is enlivening.
Q.13) How can you reframe your current situation?
Answer:
Use these questions to help prompt you:
1. What do you appreciate about your current situation?
2. What‘s the worst that can happen?
3. How can your current situation cause positive things to happen later in your
life? If I were to answer these questions, they would be as follows:
1. What do you appreciate about your current situation? I get paid to listen to
audio books and to exercise. I can use the source material from the audio books
to help me on my blog posts, creating courses
and other content.
2. What‘s the worst that can happen? I could get injured and be unable to work.
Even if this happens, I‘d most likely still be able to return to my desk and work on
my computer.
3. How can your current situation cause positive things to happen later in your
life? By improving both my body and mind, I will become a better man to serve in
my next endeavor — whether that is in
my own business or working for someone else.

Emotional Intelligence and Managerial Effectiveness :

Module 04:
Q.1) What is Empathy?
Answer :
Daniel Goleman, author of the book Emotional Intelligence, says that empathy is
basically the ability to understand others‘ emotions. He also, however, notes that
at a deeper level, it is about defining, understanding, and reacting to the
concerns and needs that underlie others‘ emotional responses and reactions
Q.2) What are the Different elements of Empathy?
Answer : Daniel Goleman identified five key elements of empathy.
1. Understanding Others
2. Developing Others
3. Having a Service Orientation
4. Leveraging Diversity
5. Political Awareness
1. Understanding Others
This is perhaps what most people understand by ‗empathy‘: in Goleman‘s words,
―sensing others‘ feelings and perspectives, and taking an active interest in their
concerns‖. Those who do this: Tune into emotional cues. They listen well, and
also pay attention to non verbal communication, picking up subtle cues almost
subconsciously Show sensitivity, and understand others‘ perspectives.
2. Developing Others
Developing others means acting on their needs and concerns, and helping them
to develop to their full potential. People with skills in this area usually: Reward
and praise people for their strengths and accomplishments, and provide
constructive feedback designed to focus on how to improve. See our page on
Giving and Receiving Feedback for more. Provide mentoring and coaching to
help others to develop to their full potential. See our pages on Mentoring and
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Coaching Skills for more. Provide stretching assignments that will help their
teams to develop.
3. Having a Service Orientation
Primarily aimed at work situations, having a service orientation means putting the
needs of customers first and looking for ways to improve their satisfaction and
loyalty.People who have this approach will ‗go the extra mile‘ for customers. They
will genuinely understand customers‘ needs, and go out of
their way to help meet them.
4. Leveraging Diversity
Leveraging diversity means being able to create and develop opportunities
through different kinds of people, recognising and celebrating that we all bring
something different to the table. Leveraging diversity does not mean that you
treat everyone in exactly the same way, but that you tailor the way you interact
with others to fit with their needs and feelings. People with this skill respect and
relate well to everyone, regardless of their background. As a general rule, they
see diversity as an opportunity, understanding that diverse teams work much
better than teams that are more homogeneous. People who are good at
leveraging diversity also challenge intolerance, bias and stereotyping when they
see it, creating an atmosphere that is respectful towards everyone
.5. Political Awareness
Many people view ‗political‘ skills as manipulative, but in its best sense, political‘
means sensing and responding to a group‘s emotional undercurrents and power
relationships. Political awareness can help individuals to navigate organisational
relationships
effectively, allowing them to achieve where others may previously have failed.
Q 3) What are Types of Empathy?
Answer :
1) Cognitive Empathy
Cognitive empathy, also known as ‗perspective-taking‘ is not really what most of
us would think of as empathy at all. Cognitive empathy is basically being able to
put yourself into someone else‘s place, and see their perspective. It is a useful
skill, particularly in negotiations for example, or for managers. It enables you to
put yourself in someone else‘s shoes, but without necessarily engaging with their
emotions. It does not, however, really fit with the definition of empathy as ‗feeling
with‘, being a much more rational and logical process. Effectively, cognitive
empathy is ‗empathy by thought‘, rather than by feeling.
2) Emotional Empathy
Emotional empathy is when you quite literally feel the other person‘s emotions
alongside them, as if youhad ‗caught‘ the emotions. Emotional empathy is also
known as ‗personal distress‘ or ‗emotional
contagion‘. This is closer to the usual understanding of the word ‗empathy‘, but
more emotional.
3) Compassionate Empathy
The name, compassionate empathy, is consistent with what we usually
understand by compassion. Like sympathy, compassion is about feeling concern
for someone, but with an additional move towards action to mitigate the
problem.Compassionate empathy is the type of empathy that is usually most
appropriate.As a general rule, people who want or need your empathy don‘t just
need you to understand (cognitive empathy), and they certainly don‘t need you
just to feel their pain or, worse, to burst into tears alongside them (emotional
 25

empathy). Instead, they need you to understand and sympathise with what they
are
going through and, crucially, either take, or help them to take, action to resolve
the problem, which is compassionate empathy.
Two Other Types of Empathy
For completion, it is worth mentioning that some people suggest that there are
two other forms of empathy, somatic and spiritual. Somatic empathy is defined as
feeling someone else‘s pain physically.For example, if you see someone hurt, you
too might feel physical pain. Anecdotally, identical twins sometimes report that
they know when the other has been hurt, which might be an example ofsomatic
empathy. You can see an echo of somatic empathy, for example, if someone is hit
in the stomach with a
ball during a sports game, and one or two of the spectators may double over as if
they too had been hit.
Spiritual empathy is defined as a direct connection with a ‗higher being‘ or
consciousness.It is the same as ‗enlightenment‘ in the eastern philosophical
tradition, and considered to be achievable through meditation.
Q 4) What are the benefits of empathy?
Answer:
There are a number of benefits of being able to experience empathy. Some of
these include:
• Empathy allows people to build social connections with others. By
understanding what people are thinking and feeling, people are able to respond
appropriately in social situations.
• Empathizing with others helps you learn to regulate your own emotions.
Emotional regulation is important in that it allows you to manage what you are
feeling, even in times of great stress, without becoming overwhelmed.
• Empathy promotes helping behaviors. Not only are you more likely to engage in
helpful behaviors when you feel empathy for other people; other people are also
more likely to help you when they experience
empathy.
Q.5) Why People Lack Empathy
Answer:
A few reasons why people sometimes lack empathy:
• They fall victim to cognitive biases. Sometimes the way people perceive the
world around them is influenced by a number of cognitive biases. For example,
people often attribute other people's failures to internal characteristics, while
blaming their own shortcomings on external factors. These biases can make it
difficult to see all the factors that contribute to a situation and make it less likely
that people will be able
to see a situation from the perspective of another.
• People tend to dehumanize victims. Many also fall victim to the trap of thinking
that people who are different from them also don't feel and behave the same as
they do. This is particularly common in cases when other people are physically
distant. When they watch reports of a disaster or conflict in a foreign land, people
might be less likely to feel empathy if they think that those who are suffering are
fundamentally different than they are.
• People tend to blame victims. Sometimes when another person has suffered
through a terrible experience, people make the mistake of blaming the victim for
his or her circumstances. This is the reason why victims of crimes are often