Mom "The Genius"

Even though my Mom falls short on one of the five major qualities Daniel Goleman outlined, she still qualified to be an “Emotional Genius”. She was always very aware of her emotions and made everyone around her think she was in a good mood even if she wasn’t. She would do anything to make everyone around her happy and put the needs of others above her own without them even knowing it. She had a true gift of making others around her feel comfortable to say and do the things they wanted without feeling pressured to do anything else. Her self-motivation was well demonstrated in her job as the head loan officer for a large bank. For many years she was the top money maker for her bank and won free trips all over the world. It was so important for her to stay competitive with her peers that she would work late nights at home and go to college with her very little spare time. She developed her own sales strategies which the bank promoted in many T.V., radio, and newspaper advertisements with her as the spokeswoman. Her expert people skills fueled and endless supply of clients she worked with every day. She developed these skills to stay competitive and remain the top sales broker for the bank. A big weakness for her was the self-control of addictive behaviors that hurt her. The stresses of staying competitive along with her deep desire to always make everyone around her happy led to alcoholism and eventually her suicide. She was an “emotional genius” at always being the best for her family, friends, and clients; however she never knew how to be an effective “emotional genius” at taking care of herself.