Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to recognise, understand, and manage our own emotions, as well as the emotions of those around us. In leadership, this translates into self-awareness, empathy, and the ability to build strong, trusting relationships.
Reactivity usually stems from stress, and stress can come from all sorts of places - work deadlines, personal expectations, or simply the daily juggling act of life. When we’re in a state of stress, our nervous system goes into overdrive.
A trigger is anything in your environment that taps into an unresolved emotional wound. It’s the salt on the wound. If you had a physical cut on your hand and someone poured salt on it, it would hurt. But if your skin was healed, the salt wouldn’t bother you at all.