Hannah Aster

SEO Team Lead

Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.

Expertise

Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing

Emotional Self-Awareness: Definition, Benefits, Tactics

Can you improve your emotional intelligence? According to Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, authors of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, the answer is yes—and the foundation starts with emotional self-awareness, your ability to recognize your emotions as they happen and understand your patterns over time. Bradberry and Greaves argue that self-awareness is a skill anyone can develop, but research shows that people experience and express emotional awareness differently. Here’s why you need it and 15 tactics to help you develop it.

Emotional Intelligence & Social Awareness: A Guide

Social awareness—your ability to accurately read others’ emotions and understand what drives their behavior—is a core component of emotional intelligence that helps you pick up on social cues others miss. Developing social awareness is more complex than simply observing others, according to Bradberry and Greaves’s research in Emotional Intelligence 2.0. Here’s a look at social awareness and tactics for improving it.

Emotional Self-Management: 16 Tips to Develop It

Ever said something in a heated moment and regretted it after? Emotional self-management is your ability to create space between feeling an emotion and acting on it. According to Bradberry and Greaves in Emotional Intelligence 2.0, this doesn’t mean suppressing what you feel. It means channeling those emotions productively so you stay in control of your behavior.

The Importance of Emotional Intelligence at Work & Home

A sketch of a woman's brain with a love heart on it

In Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Bradberry and Greaves argue that emotional intelligence—your ability to recognize and manage emotions—accounts for 58% of job performance and predicts success better than IQ or technical skills. Understanding the importance of emotional intelligence starts with understanding your brain. When you experience something, that information passes through your limbic system before reaching the frontal lobe, where logical thinking happens. This wiring means you feel before you think, making emotional awareness essential rather than optional for navigating workplace dynamics, building relationships, and making sound decisions.

Emotional Intelligence & Self-Awareness: The Basics

Ever notice how hunger makes you snappy, or how certain people instantly put you on edge? That’s self-awareness in action—your ability to recognize emotions as they happen and understand your behavioral patterns over time. In Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves argue that this recognition forms the foundation of emotional intelligence, because you can’t manage an emotion you haven’t noticed. Keep reading to learn more about self-awareness and tactics for developing it.

4 Emotional Intelligence Strategies to Boost Your EQ Skills

Want to navigate workplace tensions with more grace, make better decisions under pressure, and build stronger professional relationships? In Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Bradberry and Greaves argue you can develop these capabilities by systematically improving your emotional intelligence through four core skills: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. This guide breaks down specific, research-backed strategies for developing each skill, from identifying your physical stress signals and managing your self-talk to reading body language and handling difficult conversations that preserve trust even during disagreement.

Badass Habits by Jen Sincero: Book Overviews & Takeaways

A woman flexing her bicep while looking in the mirror because she has good habits

Struggling to stick with new habits? The problem isn’t your willpower—it’s that you’re focused on doing instead of being. In Badass Habits, self-help expert Jen Sincero argues that lasting change comes from shifting your identity first, then letting your habits naturally follow from who you’ve become. Sincero, a life coach and bestselling author of the You Are a Badass series, offers a refreshingly irreverent take on habit formation that flips traditional advice on its head. This guide explores her identity-first approach to building better habits, walks through practical strategies for reshaping your environment and routines, and examines the psychological tools

Understanding the 4 Benefits of Emotional Intelligence

Can developing your emotional intelligence really change your life? According to Bradberry and Greaves in Emotional Intelligence 2.0, emotional intelligence (EQ) is the one characteristic you can strengthen throughout your life, making it your most practical tool for self-improvement—unlike IQ and personality, which remain largely fixed. Understanding the benefits of emotional intelligence can transform how you navigate relationships, handle stress, and achieve success. Here’s an overview.

Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer (Book Overview)

The silhouette of a woman using a laptop at a desk

Can you love art made by terrible people? Claire Dederer’s Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma tackles this question head-on, exploring why we feel conflicted when artists we admire turn out to be abusers, bigots, or otherwise morally compromised. This guide walks through Dederer’s framework: the three most common types of monstrous artists (abusive men, rebellious women, and bigots), why these figures trouble us so deeply, and three possible responses to their work. We’ll also explore Dederer’s three core lessons about human complexity, drawn from her examination of figures like Picasso, Doris Lessing, Richard Wagner, and J.K. Rowling.

How to Win Every Argument (Without Damaging Relationships)

A stylistic image of a man and woman having an argument

Ever wonder how to win every argument without damaging your relationships? The key is approaching disagreements strategically—listening more than talking, asking questions instead of attacking, and finding common ground rather than forcing your viewpoint. In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie outlines essential techniques for navigating conflicts productively. He emphasizes staying calm, empathizing with others’ perspectives, and being willing to admit when you’re wrong. These strategies help you resolve disagreements while preserving—and even strengthening—your connections with others.

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