Every interaction is an opportunity… that’s the core of Goleman’s genius. He’s telling us that the checkout line, the team meeting, the text from your partner—it’s all practice for the most important skill of all.
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Meaning
It means you don’t need a special course or a retreat to build emotional intelligence. Your daily life is the gym, and every person you meet is a piece of equipment.
Explanation
Look, we often think of emotional intelligence as this big, abstract thing you deploy in major crises. But the real work happens in the micro-moments. That frustrating email? A chance to practice self-regulation instead of firing off a reply. A colleague taking credit for your idea? A chance to practice empathy and assertive communication. It reframes life from a series of problems to a series of reps. And the more reps you get, the stronger you get. It’s a game-changer.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Relationship (329) |
| Topics | emotion general (105), practice (38) |
| Literary Style | motivational (245), simple (291) |
| Emotion / Mood | gentle (183), optimistic (116) |
| Overall Quote Score | 80 (256) |
Origin & Factcheck
This comes straight from Daniel Goleman’s 1995 book, “Emotional Intelligence,” which really popularized the concept in the U.S. and beyond. You sometimes see this idea paraphrased all over the place, but the core insight is definitively his from that groundbreaking work.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Dr Daniel Goleman (50) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (54) |
| Origin Timeperiod | Contemporary (1615) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Daniel Goleman is a psychologist and bestselling author whose journalism at The New York Times brought brain and behavior science to a wide audience. He earned a BA from Amherst and a PhD in psychology from Harvard, and studied in India on a Harvard fellowship. Goleman’s research and writing helped mainstream emotional intelligence, leadership competencies, attention, and contemplative science. He co-founded CASEL and a leading research consortium on EI at work. The Daniel Goleman book list includes Emotional Intelligence, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Primal Leadership, Social Intelligence, Focus, and Altered Traits.
| Official Website
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | Every interaction is an opportunity to practice emotional intelligence |
| Book Details | Publication Year: 1995; ISBN: 978-0553375060; Last edition: 2005; Number of pages: 352 |
| Where is it? | Chapter: The Social Arts, Approximate page 198 from 2005 edition |