Welcome back to Spirit of EQ! In this episode, Eric here. I

In this episode, I look into the powerful connection between emotional intelligence and curiosity. I’ve been thinking a lot about how curiosity isn’t just a personality trait—it’s a vital tool that can open the doors to learning, enrich our relationships, and help us truly understand ourselves and others.

Drawing from my own experiences and practical examples, I unpack how curiosity ties into key emotional intelligence competencies like recognizing patterns, intrinsic motivation, and empathy.

I’ll share some personal insights on how easy it is to slip into judgment, and why being intentional in my conversations, especially by asking open-ended questions, has made such a difference, even with people I might not always see eye to eye with or those I may have taken for granted.

If you’re looking for ways to strengthen your connections or become a lifelong learner, you’ll find something valuable in this episode. Slow down, shift gears, and discover the transformative power of curiosity in our everyday lives.

Here are my top 3 takeaways:

Curiosity Strengthens Relationships: By taking a genuine interest in others—especially those closest to us—we reinforce our connections and communicate how much we value them.

Intentional Practice Drives Growth: Being curious, especially in tough situations or with people we disagree with, takes intentional, sometimes uncomfortable work. Leaning into open-ended questions helps us gather better data, not just quick judgments.

Curiosity Fuels Self-Awareness & Empathy: It’s closely linked to recognizing our own patterns, intrinsic motivation, and building empathy. Pausing and seeking to understand rather than rushing to react makes us better listeners, colleagues, and leaders.

Memorable Moments

00:00 Intrinsic Motivation and Empathy Explored

05:18 Curiosity in Meaningful Interactions

10:29 Nurturing Close Relationships Intentionally

13:04 "Curiosity Enhances Business Connections"

16:51 "Intentional Work in Relationships"

19:02 "Building Takes Time and Effort"

In each episode, Jeff and Eric will talk about what emotional intelligence, or understanding your emotions, can do for you in your daily and work life. For more information, contact Eric or Jeff at [email protected], or go to their website, Spirit of EQ.

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Music from Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/roo-walker/deeper

License code: PEYKDJHQNGSZXDUE

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/

Spirit of EQ

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Thanks for listening to Spirit of EQ

This podcast was created to be a tool to primarily help you to discover and grow your EQ. Science and our own lived experiences confirm that the better we are at managing our emotions, the better we're going to be at making decisions. Which leads to a better life. And that's something we all want. We're glad that you've taken the time today to listen. We hope that something you hear will lead to a breakthrough. We'd really appreciate a review on your podcast platform. Please leave some comments about what you heard today, as well as follow and subscribe to the podcast. That way, you won't miss a single episode as we continue this journey.