Emotional Intelligence

I happen to come across this book while I was at the psychology section in the library yesterday -- Emotional Intelligence Why it can matter more than IQ by Daniel Goleman. Firstly, I'm attracted to the book cover. It looks simple yet it grabs my attention. Haha! Next, the font size of the words in it are like this small. Followed by the contents which are also quite appealing to me.

This quote in the book is super true:
'Anyone can be angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - this is not easy.' -Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics

True right? Erm, I not angry ok. Don't get the wrong idea. Having read that, I began to think about the last time when I was feeling angry. Its like, hmm, ya, I'm angry over something on x day, with the right person. To the right degree? I'm not too sure about that, maybe I 'magnified' my anger by a bit more than the right degree? But how to determine or measure which is the 'right degree'? Very subjective leh. Ya, its at the right time. For the right purpose? Hmm, again, my purpose, it is just very subjective lor, like my reason of feeling angry might be A but the other party might be feeling angry because of B. You get what I mean? =X And in the right way? How do we determine which is the right way and which is wrong? Its again, the problem of defining. I think it all boils down to how we define the terms huh? So I'm like... (-.-"), to feel angry you must still consider so many things la. wth. So the next time I'm about to get angry at things, I would ask myself if it is really worth my time to feel angry for that couple of minutes or will I be better off by letting it go? Would definitely prefer the latter to the former! =D

Ok, now, you might be wondering what the hell is The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle. I'm pretty sure that Aristotle sounds familiar to most of you. But anyway, he was a Greek philosopher who lived during 384 BC – 322 BC. Now about The Nicomachean Ethics. From wikipedia, it is a work by Aristotle on virtue and moral character which plays a prominent role in defining Aristotelian ethics. Nicomachean Ethics focuses on the importance of habitually behaving virtuously and developing a virtuous character. Aristotle emphasized the importance of context to ethical behavior, and the ability of the virtuous person to recognize the best course of action. Aristotle argued that eduaimonia is the goal of life, and that a person's pursuit of eudaimonia, rightly conceived, will result in virtuous conduct.

Hmm, I'm still wondering why the author put this quote of Aristotle in his book. Anyway, here's a pic of the book cover. Apparently, when I googled for it, there are older versions of this book. And of course, they don't look as appealing as this la, don't believe? Try googling it youself!