“If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.” ― Daniel Goleman

“Do not allow negative feelings and emotions to control your mind. Emotional harm does not come from others; it is conceived and developed within ourselves.” ― Carlos Slim

We live in a society where the focus is often on developing our intellectual and physical abilities. However, we need many more skills to function effectively on a day-to-day basis. In our work, we often encounter very intelligent people who struggle to control their emotions, to build meaningful relationships, to assert themselves with confidence, who cannot cope with stress, resolve conflict or deal with disappointments.

We are two facilitators for this course, Drs Ronél le Roux and Rina de Klerk-Weyer, who both have a Ph.D. We did therapy in our private practices before we realised that it is very important to work pro-actively. Working in this way means that we teach and guide people in learning important life skills that they will be able to use in their personal and professional lives. People who have these skills can apply it before and while they experience problems in their lives.

Our courses is all about Emotional Intelligence. We did extensive research in this area and wrote several self-help books. Since 1998, we facilitated these courses for individuals and groups ranging from homemakers to CEO’s of large companies. We attended and spoke at several international conferences and seminars. We have years of active involvement in people’s lives and we are confident that this program makes a life changing difference in everyone’s life who is open to growth and committed to learn these skills.

We are passionate to share our wisdom and years of experience with you.

During this course, we will guide students to

• Realising where their emotions come from, whether it is from their needs, thinking patterns or values. Knowing the cause of your emotions help you to understand and manage them in a more constructive way.

• Becoming aware of their feelings, as it is presenting itself in the body, for example, heart palpitations and sweaty hands may indicate that you are anxious. This skill helps us to recognise the emotion sooner so that it will not overwhelm us.

• Learning the names of various emotions. It is quite important to be able to give your feelings the correct name, as that will help you to manage them. An example of this is the difference in coping with frustration and anger. Frustration usually indicates to us that something is not working like we want it to work and that we need to do something different. Anger is an emotion that is coming from other emotions like hurt or disappointment.

• Knowing the difference between suppressing and controlling/managing your emotions. This is important as most people rather suppress their emotions than dealing with it, with negative consequences.

• Practising various ways in coping with your emotions. Here we will focus on easy to apply skills to lower the intensity of your emotion, for example, deep breathing and doing some simple brain gym exercises.

• Applying these skills in your everyday life. We will provide several examples and case studies that will help the students apply their new skills in personal and professional situations.

Why is it important to have these skills?

• You can lessen the intensity of the emotion. This will help you to make sound decisions, which is not possible when your emotions overwhelm you. You can stay calm and think rationally.

• Being aware of your emotions hinder you from impulsive behaviour, e.g. if you are angry you should not be aggressive and hit someone!

• Intense emotions can damage your body and lowers your immune system. An example of this is constant anger that may lead to cancer, arthritis and various other diseases.

• Uncontrolled emotions may give rise to serious problems in your relationships with others, personally and professionally. If you are unable to manage your emotions, you may lose someone you love dearly or you may even lose your job.

• Suppressing your emotions have several negative consequences for you. It will come out when you least expect it. People will never know what you are feeling.

• When you learn that emotions do not come from the behaviour of other people, you will take responsibility for your own emotions. You will stop blaming others for the way you feel. This will empower you as you realise that you can decide what to feel in various situations.

Students doing the course will have to complete questionnaires, do homework and self-reflection, and do role-plays with friends and or family. They will receive a workbook with various activities to do.

We will be available to our students to offer guidance and support when needed, via email.