What’s Your EQ?
What’s your equanimity quotient? Take the test.
Answer the following questions honestly, giving responses that reflect the truth about you right now. Although you might make a different choice than any of those offered below, for purposes of this test you have only three options. Select the one closest to what you would do at this moment in time.
Part A
You’re running late for an interview. A driver cuts you off as you’re trying to change lanes. You would
(A) tell yourself it will probably make less than a minute’s difference in your arrival time; (B) mutter an expletive; (C) make a rude gesture, clearly visible to the other driver.
Having behaved in the manner chosen above, you would feel calm and relaxed.
(A) True (B) False
Part B
A child accidentally bumps into you as you’re talking through the mall and causes you to drop your packages. You would
(A) ask him if he’s all right; (B) pick up your package in a huff, ignore him and walk away; (C) tell him sternly to watch where he’s going.
Having behaved in the manner chosen above, you would feel calm and relaxed.
(A) True (B) False
Part C
You and a friend have been out to dinner. You have agreed to split the bill. When it arrives, the two of you disagree on the amount of tip that’s appropriate, and your friend is quite adamant about the correctness of her opinion. You would
(A) tell yourself it’s not worth jeopardizing a friendship and go along with whatever your friend wanted to do; (B) keep talking and attempt to find a middle ground; (C) continue the argument until you won, even if the situation became heated.
Having behaved in the manner chosen above, you would feel calm and relaxed.
(A) True (B) False
Part D
You and a friend agree to meet at a movie theater. You’ve waited for 15 minutes and the film is about to start. You call her home and her cell and there’s no answer. You would
(A) leave a message telling her you’re going on into the theater and hope to see her there soon; (B) hang up and go into the theater without her; (C) leave an angry message demanding to know where in the _ _ _ _ she is.
Having behaved in the manner chosen above, you would feel calm and relaxed.
(A) True (B) False
Part E
Looking out the front window, you see your neighbor back into your flower bed and destroy some of your new plants. You would
(A) walk calmly outside, greet him, and let him know the two of you can work out an agreement on repairing the damage; (B) walk outside and greet him with a sarcastic comment such as “Little trouble here, I see” or “Having a bad day?” and follow up with a comment about how expensive the plants were, how much you’ve put into your landscaping, and how much you think he should pay you; (C) rush out, tell him what an atrocious driver he is, and demand reimbursement for damages on the spot.
Having behaved in the manner chosen above, you would feel calm and relaxed.
(A) True (B) False
Now score your answers as follows:
For each pair of responses in Parts A, B, C, D, and E, award yourself points as follows:
5 points if you answered A to first item; A to second item
4 points if you answered A to first item; B to second item
3 points if you answered B to first item; A to second item
2 points if you answered B to first item; B to second item
1 point if you answered C to first item; A to second item
1 point if you answered C to first item; B to second item
Maximum points possible are 25. Minimum, 5.
What does it all mean? Some answers in the next blog, “Your EQ and You: How’d You Do?”
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