Emotional intelligence competencies are chosen:

Self-regulation and motivation

Why were these competencies chosen?

As of 2024, I am a Year 3 student who is going to do my Final Year Project(FYP) while

managing as the vice president of the Singapore Poly Peer Support Club (SPPS) and my
part-time job at Ikea. These different parts of my life require me to be at my best at all times
to ensure that I will be able to carry out my respective tasks and duties efficiently and
effectively. From finding time to study, to advising my fellow CCA main committee members
in planning for our upcoming events, I have found myself becoming exhausted and unable to
find the energy to get out of bed to go to class. Multiple times I have skipped class just to
stay in bed as I just wanted some time to be alone with my thoughts. This is why I have
chosen these two particular Emotional Intelligence competencies.

Firstly I have chosen Self-regulation, particularly self-control as it is something I feel that I

lack in life. As mentioned earlier, I have been skipping school a few times due to feeling
mentally and emotionally unable to get out of bed to head to school. This has caused me to
not only be behind on my assignments but also miss a few key events that happened in my
friend group such as birthday celebrations. This is something I would not like to happen
again and is why I have chosen to improve my self-regulation

The second EI competency that I would like to improve is motivation, particularly with
optimism. Lately, likely due to balancing multiple things, I have found myself with no energy
to fulfil my tasks. This has resulted in me procrastinating and not completing my tasks on the
times that I had set for myself previously. I have missed many quizzes and assignment
deadlines and due to this, Motivation is something I would like to improve on.

To improve upon the EI competencies that I have chosen, I have decided to use Mindfulness
Meditation as well as journaling. Mindfulness meditation consists of taking time out of your
day to sit and relax with no distractions and take the time to appreciate all the things you
have in life. Journaling is where I would take the time to list down a few things I cherish in life
that keep me going. To record my progress over the coming weeks, I have decided to record
how I felt before, during and after the activity as well as what I had been doing prior to
carrying out the strategy

EI competency journal: Mindfulness meditation

Week 1 After a long day of working at IKEA, I Before activity:

came home to rest and started my
mindfulness meditation before going to
bed
I feel very unfocused.
Especially since I just came
back from work. My arms
and my throat felt very sore
During activity:
I tried to distract myself by
using a playlist I had found
on YouTube of nature
sounds that were supposed
to calm me down. It was

Week 2 Due to it being a weekend, I decided to
carry out my meditation in the morning
before I went to help my partner with a
photoshoot
Week 3 I had woken up earlier and thus
decided to carry out my meditation
earlier.
Week 4 I woke up and got ready for school but
had some extra time so decided to
carry out the activity
Week 5 Came home after work and decided to
extremely hard to be able to
sit still which is something
I've never noticed about
myself before
After activity:
I felt a weird sense of clarity.
I did not manage to
complete the entire 10
minutes but instead had to
stop at 6 minutes as I could
physically not sit still
anymore due to a
combination of back pain
and a general inability to sit
still. I had to mentally kick
any thoughts I had about my
problems which became
challenging and annoying at
times
Before activity:
I was still quite sleepy when
I did this so I was unsure if I
could do this
During activity: I was
struggling to stay awake
After the activity: I could
barely stay awake and
ended up sleeping during
meditation
Before the activity: Felt
extremely neutral
During activity: felt hungry
and had a hard time
focusing
After the activity: Felt hungry
and got food after the
activity
Before the activity: was still
a little tired and was unsure
if I would be able to focus on
the activity
During the activity: Used all
of my willpower to stay
awake. Was surprisingly
easy to focus as compared
to previous sessions
After activity: Felt
surprisingly awake and
refreshed after the activity
Before the activity: the body
 start instantly felt sore due to carrying
things all day
During the activity: Was
easy to focus but it was
slightly harder due to body
fatigue
After activity: Was somehow
able to reach 10 minutes of
meditation. Felt proud of
myself

EI competency: Journaling

Week 1 Switched to gratitude journaling Before the activity: Was

unsure of what I'd be able to
write down
During the activity: Took
quite a while to be able to
choose what to write
After the activity: Felt more
frustrated than anything

Week 2 Did it after a date with my partner and Before the activity: Was
was really happy sure I'd write my partner
During the activity Had
difficulty writing things other
than my partner and family
After the activity: Felt a little
happy about what I was able
to write

Week 3 Came home after a really hard time at Before the activity: My mind
school felt very clouded and I was
extremely annoyed at
everything
During activity: Could not
make a decision about what
to write
After the activity: Felt much
more frustrated than before I
started

Week 4 Had another very hard day at school Before the activity: Was very
mentally exhausted
During activity: gave up
halfway and did not do the
activity
After the activity: felt very
frustrated

Week 5 Had a fun day at school with my friends Before the activity: Was very
happy
 During the activity: Was able
to fill out 4 out of 5 of what I
wanted to write
After the activity: Felt very
thankful

Had a hard time but went out with my
partner afterwards so felt at ease
Before the activity: felt a
little tired but glad I could
see my partner
During the activity: managed
to write 5 things for the first
time
After activity: Felt
accomplished

Self-reflection

After carrying out the activities for a few weeks I can confidently say that I have improved in
the two EI competencies that I have chosen. Mindfulness meditation gave me discipline that
I did not previously have. Nowadays I find myself completely distracted by the things around
me that I have not had the time to simply be by myself and my thoughts. Mindfulness
Meditation has allowed me to become more in touch with myself as a person and has
allowed me to control my emotions in a better way. By meditating, I was able to reconnect
with myself which is something I have not done in a long time as I was busy managing my
part-time jobs as well as my studies. When I was done meditating, it felt as though my mind
was completely clear and that I was able to do anything I set my mind to at that moment.
Mindfulness meditation has helped me greatly improve my self-regulation as well as my self-
control, I have seen improvements in my daily life from small things such as being able to
handle my emotions in an argument better, to bigger things such as having the ability to
control my emotions to push myself out of bed on days where I felt emotionally exhausted.
For motivation, mindfulness meditation allowed me to acknowledge all the good things in life
instead of dwelling on the bad things. Shifting my focus to better things, it had allowed me to
change my mindset from one that was negative to one that was optimistic about the future.
Acknowledging all the good in my life made me feel grateful for the things I have, instead of
the things that I have lost.

Journaling had a similar positive effect on my life since I started. Journaling allowed me to
remember all the things I had in life that I had to be grateful for. This had a great effect on
my life. Each time I wrote in my journal, I would reflect on the positive experiences and
accomplishments of the day. This practice reinforced a sense of gratitude and helped me
maintain a positive perspective, even during challenging times.
By regularly writing down my thoughts and feelings, I also became more aware of my
emotional triggers and patterns. This awareness has been instrumental in improving my self-
regulation. For example, I noticed that I often felt overwhelmed when I didn't plan my day
properly. Recognizing this pattern, I started to set aside time each morning to plan and
prioritize my tasks, which has significantly reduced my stress levels and improved my
productivity.
Additionally, journaling has enhanced my motivation by allowing me to track my progress
toward my goals. Each week, I review my journal entries to see how far I've come, which
provides a tangible sense of achievement. This has been incredibly motivating, as it reminds
me of my capabilities and the progress I've made. It has also helped me identify and
celebrate small wins, keeping me motivated to continue working towards my larger goals.