It has been said that “ignorance is bliss”. I’ve heard many stories of people succeeding in rather risky situations by just refusing to quit. In one case a resort owner in upper Wisconsin worked tirelessly for over 20 years. When asked if he considered himself successful, he replied that the business barely broke even over the years, but he was too stubborn to admit failure or too ignorant to realize the business was failing. He decided to sell the business with an option to buy it back if the new owner couldn’t make it work, minus a down payment. He did this about 3 times, making much more money than he did running the business.

Trusting that hard work will pay off and ignoring setbacks and is one way to succeed by taking a mature approach to overcoming adversity. It is risky however, because success is left to chance much more so than trying to improve your emotional quotient.

Emotional quotient is a lot like Intelligence Quotient (IQ) - but is in the realm of feelings vs. knowledge or reasoning. Some people have a naturally high “EQ”, they are natural risk takers or people who just do things without “worrying” about failure. Entrepreneurs, politicians and successful business people are the most visible people with a high “EQ”. Remaining calm, confident and taking action in spite of fear is the key to a high “EQ”. Parents who raise very successful children, despite huge obstacles also have high “EQ”s.

The best and sometimes only way to improve EQ is to weather tough times that require tough decisions. Losing a job, a loved one or other highly stressful events triggers high anxiety. A common response to anxiety is avoidance. Staying busy with unproductive activities, excessive escapism are just a couple of the ways to avoid making a tough decision. Under stress, it is important to relieve anxiety by practicing calming routines - working out daily, getting 8 hours of sleep, quiet time/meditation and having fun (without spending a lot of money) all reduce anxiety. Taking action vs. worrying about a negative outcome is also important. People with a high EQ stay cool and take action consistently. Practicing focusing techniques increases EQ. Increased EQ improves the likelihood that taking a calculated risk will result in a net gain.