Daniel Goleman
Daniel Goleman
Daniel Golemanis an author, psychologist, and science journalist. For twelve years, he wrote for The New York Times, reporting on the brain and behavioral sciences. His 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence was on The New York Times bestseller list for a year-and-a-half, and a best-seller in many countries, in print worldwide in 40 languages. Apart from his books on emotional intelligence, Goleman has written books on topics including self-deception, creativity, transparency, meditation, social and emotional learning, ecoliteracy and the ecological crisis,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSelf-Help Author
Date of Birth7 March 1946
CountryUnited States of America
Compassion begins with attention.
Simple inattention kills empathy, let alone compassion. So the first step in compassion is to notice the other's need. It all begins with the simple act of attention.
Self-absorption in all its forms kills empathy, let alone compassion. When we focus on ourselves, our world contracts as our problems and preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world expands. Our own problems drift to the periphery of the mind and so seem smaller, and we increase our capacity for connection - or compassionate action.
Making choices that improve things for all of us on the planet is an act of compassion, a simple act we can do any time we go shopping.
True compassion means not only feeling another's pain but also being moved to help relieve it.
We are being judged by a new yardstick: not just how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how we handle ourselves and each other.
Social distance makes it all the easier to focus on small differences between groups and to put a negative spin on the ways of others and a positive spin on our own.
In politics, readily dismissing inconvenient people can easily extend to dismissing inconvenient truths about them.
Smart phones and social media expand our universe. We can connect with others or collect information easier and faster than ever.
The more socially intelligent you are, the happier and more robust and more enjoyable your relationships will be.
The amygdala in the emotional center sees and hears everything that occurs to us instantaneously and is the trigger point for the fight or flight response.
If you do a practice and train your attention to hover in the present, then you will build the internal capacity to do that as needed - at will and voluntarily.
In a high-IQ job pool, soft skills like discipline, drive and empathy mark those who emerge as outstanding.
When I went on to write my next book, Working With Emotional Intelligence, I wanted to make a business case that the best performers were those people strong in these skills.