You may be able to solve complex trigonometry problems in seconds. You may build a website within a day, or defeat anyone in chess within 10 moves, but how much of your intelligence applies to your inner world of emotions? Have you ever sat down and thought about your emotional health and how it is affecting your life? Emotional Intelligence is a different type of skill often under-rated in Nepali society, and it is constantly determining your mental and interpersonal state of affairs on a daily basis. Moreover, understanding emotions isn’t as easy as you may think. That is why services like My Emotions Matter are necessary to identify, understand, and resolve interpersonal relationship problems through self-reflective learning experiences.
The Story Behind “My Emotions Matter”
Ms. Bhawana Shrestha was always inclined towards making an impact on society. However, she felt limited as a journalist to do so. That’s when she started teaching in community schools through the Teach For Nepal Fellowship Program. Being an academically sound student, she had thought teaching would come naturally to her and that it would be easy. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. No matter how hard she prepared, she couldn’t grab the attention of her students as they were constantly occupied with their family problems. This went on until gradually she could connect with them on a personal level and establish an emotional bond.
Even the brightest students in Nepal were not being able to present themselves confidently on the international stage due to a lack of confidence and some degree of inferiority complex. Mr. Sagar Satyal was running mentorship programs at King’s College to bridge the gap of this problem with the education sector. That’s where Ms. Bhawana and Mr. Sagar met each other to further their work on providing students with a mentorship program about emotional intelligence, which later expanded into general individuals as well as the corporate sector.
Introducing Emotional Intelligence to Nepal
In the present time, Emotional Intelligence has been recognized as one of the essential skills every person should learn. It does not come naturally and you can’t acquire it just by reading self-help books. There is a common misconception that it is just an ability to be aware of your emotions and not do anything about it. But it is much more proactive than that.
Emotional Intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your emotions in positive ways in order to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict. According to Ms. Bhawana Shrestha, “Emotions are part of human nature and you can’t classify them as good or bad. Instead, know how it is affecting you and how to deal with it positively. They tell a lot about a person, but just because a certain emotion arises doesn’t necessarily mean it is bad.”
Introducing Emotional Intelligence to Nepal wasn’t easy. They mostly spent the first year of their operations primarily advocating and spreading awareness. Since it is a skill that can be learned at any age, people from all walks of life gradually opened up to it and received it agreeably. However, it was difficult at first, since the two co-founders were young and their credibility was in question. Now that more people have become aware of it, there is a wider receptivity towards it. They have since been successful at teaching it to individuals, in educational institutions, as well as in the corporate sector.
The Book
My Emotions Matter launched a book recently titled “My Emotions Matter- A guide to managing and expressing emotions positively.” It is a comprehensive guide on the topic touching on the all essential points in a neatly structured bundle. Since not everyone can attend their sessions, and also they can’t cover all the institutions in the country, they have published this book to reach out to a wider pool of audience in a more convenient way. It is currently available in the Ekta Books Store, and it is suited for everyone, including parents and teachers, who want to incorporate Emotional Intelligence in their parenting or teaching methodologies and teach the children about it.
Final Words
Just like you’ve heard from many others who’ve successfully tread the path, the journey isn’t as easy as it seems on paper. As is well known to a lot of young people getting into entrepreneurship nowadays, life throws a lot of curveballs. “This is especially challenging if you are a girl because you collide against the institutional forces of our patriarchal society.” Ms. Shrestha finally adds, “So be prepared. Build yourself up and create a solid foundation. Don’t execute a startup idea if you’re not fully passionate about it. Before starting cross-question yourself. Rethink the idea. Get a mentor to see if it is worth it. Make sure it has a healthy growth potential for the next 5 or 10 years.”
