Why Taylor Swift does what she does? Doctor says EQ can explain

MANILA, Philippines — Who made Taylor Swift do what she does in her music video for her latest single “Look What You Made Me Do”? Was it really Kanye West and his wife Kim Kardashian West?

“Why are you doing what you’re doing? What makes you do what you do? What gives you energy to do what you do?” Dr. Aurorita Roldan, University of the Philippines College of Home Economics Dean and Professor on family life and child development, recently asked in a press conference for Enfagrow in Makati City.

According to the doctor, the answer to all these is emotional quotient or EQ.

EQ, look what you made me do

EQ, said Dr. Roldan, has been here for quite a while but has not been given enough attention.

According to the New York Post, millennials like Swift “are more depressed at work than any generation,” and young women like Swift “are particularly at risk.”

As a result, The New York Times added that suicide “surges to a 30-year high” in the US, backed by a Washington Post report that said, “US suicide rate has risen sharply in the 21st century.”

“Optimism is much needed now because there are so many things happening in social media now that make children get depressed. Depression is now rampant globally,” Dr. Roldan explained.

She said relationships across countries are based on how people control information and information changes so fast so if you are not connected, you will have problems. “Because of the so-called ‘connection’ in social media, while we are connected, we are also isolated and that’s also where EQ also comes in.”

EQ, said the doctor, is more than the “marshmallow test” or delayed gratification. According to her, here are the differences between EQ and intelligence quotient (IQ):

• IQ is what you know, EQ is about what you do with what you know.
• When we talk about knowledge, that is IQ. But when we talk about how we manage this knowledge, that is EQ.
• Cognition is IQ and it includes new techniques and means to achieve your ends, but you need EQ for fulfilling your goals.
• IQ is static and is a product of research. While knowledge could change depending on your environment, EQ is about factors that gives energy to human behavior, such as the application of knowledge. What will make you do something with what you know is the domain of EQ.

13 reasons why EQ matter

September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day.

To prevent depression and suicide especially among millennials, Dr. Roldan suggested that besides IQ, one should also give importance to EQ because:

1.     As Plato said, “All learning has an emotional (EQ) base.”

2.     EQ is a way of recognizing, understanding, choosing and monitoring how we think, feel and behave. It also determines how we view and look at ourselves.

3.     EQ skills help create a higher achievement. Emotions are meshed with reason.

4.     The human memory, in context, is about feeling. You will remember things better if they are connected with your emotions or some kind of experience, connection in your life, not just in the mind.

5.     If you cannot remember what you are studying, it is because you cannot connect them with your feelings.

6.     A more activated and chemically stimulated brain helps us recall things better – people with good mood are better at inductive reasoning and creative problem solving.

7.     Emotional intelligence is helping to focus us on becoming a complete human being.

8.     In the personal dimension, EQ shows a person how he manages himself, especially one’s self awareness, self control, self-confidence, and self motivation. 

9.     It also determines one’s adaptability, innovation, commitment, drive, and optimism.

10.   In the social dimension, EQ determines a person’s empathy or service orientation and how he or she manages a relationship, which includes conflict management, influence, and leadership.

11.   People with high EQ have a way to control themselves and how they are in relation to themselves.

12.   EQ shapes our understanding of ourselves, our interaction with others. 

13.   It also defines how and what we learn and allows us to set our priorities.

“Why are you all here? You think it’s because of IQ? What your passion is, what you feel about what you’re doing, that’s your EQ,” Dr. Roldan enthused.

In this world dominated by millennials, the new economy, said the doctor, is the “knowledge economy,” which means there is a greater demand for EQ now more than ever.

“EQ determines majority of our daily actions, so it is responsible for 80 percent of the success in our lives," Roldan explained.

So, the next time you are wondering what you are doing or why are your doing what you do, maybe it could be just your EQ playing tricks on you.