REAL LIFE-ALTERING STORIES
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND AWARENESS ARE LIFE-ALTERING SKILLS THAT HAVE IMPACTED AND TRANSFORMED THE LIVES OF MILLIONS AROUND THE WORLD.
HERE, YOU WILL FIND REAL STORIES OF THE POWER OF EI AND AWARENESS.
WARNING: Some stories may be triggering or contain explicit content. Please look for TW (trigger warnings) or CW (content warning) before reading.
Anngelica-Marie Eshesimua
As a 24-year-old entrepreneur struggling with depression, developing my emotional intelligence saved me and gave me the courage to help others through my business.
Launching my health and beauty company, Omekwa Organics, during the pandemic has unearthed negative thought patterns unknown to me. Struggling during my first year of business challenged my notions of success and self-worth, sending me into a depressive spiral; it was the best thing that happened to me and my business.
Rebuilding myself through the teachings of books like The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, I learned that emotional intelligence lies in the present; I no longer dwell on the future which caused much of my anxiety. Instead, I focus on my business and empower my customers.
With my newfound awareness, I launched a podcast through my business, The Tea Corner, discussing all things Body, Mind, and Spirit.
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Heidi Bright
When I was diagnosed with highly aggressive end-stage uterine cancer in 2009, I emotionally shut down. So, I started seeing a clinical psychologist every week. She taught me how to do the "Map of Emotions," which involves feeling the sensations of my emotions in my body without thinking about them. This enabled me to get through the fight-flight-freeze responses to treatment with self-awareness and self-acceptance. As I learned and practiced this 90-second process, my attitudes and behaviors transformed, and I was able to make life-altering choices.
I was in cancer treatment for two years and ran out of chemotherapy options. I had another lung surgery for metastatic lesions and then was told to get my affairs in order.
I have been free of any evidence of cancer and free of any cancer treatment since 2011. I largely credit this to learning how to manage my emotions in healthy ways, which completely transformed my life.
Shahek Raza
"Being a very self-centered and rigid person, I felt that I had to be a dictator in my life because of being bossed around in my childhood and bullied throughout my teenage and college years. There were people who never understood me and my interests.
Emotional Intelligence helped me to make better decisions and be patient while taking the necessary steps towards a better life.
Developing EI is not something that you can do in a day, it’s a trait that needs to be continuously practiced, beginning with awareness. It takes time for an individual to make decisions appropriately, effectively. However, I now have the motivation to chase my goals and the know-how to achieve them.”
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Nancy Landrum
TW: Loss of husband and child
I’ve been on a journey of developing emotional intelligence since I needed help to move out of a deep depression in my early forties. With a gifted coach, I began to admit to feelings that had been buried since childhood—not only verbalizing them but feeling them with compassion. My coach's acceptance and compassion helped me learn self-acceptance and self-compassion. It was a revelation that I deserved self-compassion and could even give it to myself. ...