Emotional intelligence has several distinctive attributes. Simply put, people with emotional intelligence have the ability to accept, manage and express their emotions. They have the ability to own their emotions and hold them back if they are negative in nature. Sadness is typically something that we, as people, strive not to have, however a person with emotional intelligence would see the benefits of embracing that sadness, holding onto that emotion, and letting it go when it serves no purpose. They would understand that sadness is an important emotion, because after being sad, our happiness is highly valued. People with emotional intelligence are able to be honest with themselves about their emotions and share serious emotions appropriately. It is also important to know the relationship you have with that emotion: for example, is it a positive emotion? negative emotion? Does its negative connotation make it a bad emotion? Do you avoid this emotion because it's bad? Do you hide the truth to spare feelings? Seek pleasure and avoid pain? Your relationship with your emotions and how they characterize your actions is very important to observe when you are emotionally intelligent. It is essential to recognize the physical sensations of the emotion to name it and resolve it to move forward with your life, or do something to resolve this emotion. It's important to see yourself through the emotion and know that it's okay to feel it and it's okay to just hold it in: that sometimes nothing can be done, and that's okay. It's also important to recognize your relationship with yourself and observe how your emotions help or hinder your decision making. Knowing yourself, predicting what causes you stress, sadness, or frustration, and knowing how to react appropriately is a strong sign of emotional distress. Being able to read the emotions of others, both subtle and direct emotional signals, is extremely important in all relationships in life. These tools are useful when learning to resolve conflicts. It is important to be good at reading body language, especially eyes and gestures. The third step towards emotional maturity is expressing your emotions clearly and directly when necessary. If you are feeling a particularly strong emotion, such as anger, then it is important to express it to those close to you, because then they will know that you may need some space. Seeing when other people are angry is also a sign of emotional literacy, and understanding that their anger means you shouldn't push that person.