Paper Details

Abstract: Emotional intelligence (EI) plays a crucial role in helping individuals navigate life’s challenges. Defined by components like self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and resilience, EI is essential for personal and interpersonal success. In this paper, Rudyard Kipling’s If and Edgar Albert Guest’s Don’t Quit are analyzed through the lens of emotional intelligence and the life skills framework outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Both poems highlight the emotional competencies that align with WHO’s ten core life skills, particularly emotional regulation, self-awareness, and stress management. By exploring how these skills manifest in literature, the paper underscores how poetry serves as a tool for emotional development, providing timeless lessons on perseverance and emotional control.

Keywords: Emotional intelligence, self-awareness, emotional regulation, If, Don’t Quit, stress management, WHO life skills, resilience.