Self-awareness is the first component of emotional intelligence… it’s the absolute bedrock of everything. Without it, you’re flying blind in your own emotional landscape. Recognizing a feeling as it happens is the superpower Goleman is talking about.
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Meaning
It means you can’t manage what you don’t see. Self-awareness is the foundational skill that makes all other emotional intelligence possible.
Explanation
Look, I’ve seen this play out a thousand times. People think EQ is about being nice or controlling your anger. But that’s putting the cart before the horse. The real magic, the *first* step, is just… noticing. It’s that split-second where you feel the heat of frustration start to rise in your chest and you think, “Ah. There’s frustration.” That moment of recognition, before you even decide what to *do* about it, is everything. It creates a tiny gap between the stimulus and your response, and in that gap lies all your freedom and choice.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Education (260) |
| Topics | emotion general (105), learning (190), self awareness (56) |
| Literary Style | clear (348), practical (126) |
| Emotion / Mood | calm (491), focused (87) |
| Overall Quote Score | 78 (178) |
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 misattributed to ancient philosophies or other modern psychologists, but the specific phrasing about it being the “first component” is uniquely Goleman’s framework from that seminal 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 | Self-awareness is the first component of emotional intelligence—recognizing a feeling as it happens |
| Book Details | Publication Year: 1995; ISBN: 978-0553375060; Last edition: 2005; Number of pages: 352 |
| Where is it? | Chapter: Self-Awareness, Approximate page 87 from 2005 edition |