Courtesy of Marc Brackett

Only around 36 percent of people worldwide are emotionally intelligent, according to Forbes. Yale’s Marc Brackett aims to ramp this up to 100 percent.

Earlier this September, Brackett, a founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, or YCEI, talked about improving emotional intelligence on the Huberman Lab Podcast, listened by millions of people. With his research, he wants to achieve “emotion[al] revolution,” he said.

“We all need emotional intelligence,” Brackett told the News. 

Why? “Life’s simply an emotional rollercoaster,” Brackett says.

When he was younger, Brackett experienced a tough childhood that included abuse and bullying. His uncle, a middle school teacher, stepped into his life and provided security, he said. 

His uncle happened to be creating a curriculum to teach children how to understand emotions and piloted the program with Brackett. Ever since, Brackett has been fascinated with emotional intelligence. 

Brackett describes emotional intelligence as a complex field that refers to human reasoning and understanding of emotions. The term encompasses skills such as labeling emotions, recognizing the emotions of others and regulating your own emotions.

Managing stress and negative emotions can lead to improved physical health, while an inability to do this can lead to mental health problems. 

Emotional intelligence is also vital for maintaining healthy relationships, whether platonic, romantic or familial. Failing to understand and regulate emotions in the context of relationships with other people can lead to strained communication and weaker connections, as Brackett explained in the Huberman Lab episode.

“Our research shows that people with higher emotional intelligence are healthier, happier, more connected and more likely to achieve their goals,” Brackett said.

Brackett worked with two emotional intelligence pioneers, John Mayer from the University of New Hampshire and Yale’s former president Peter Salovey, who coined the term emotional intelligence in the 1990s. Now, Brackett continues the work of his former mentors, wishing to impact individuals around the world.

“We’ll come one step closer to my personal vision of creating an emotion[al] revolution in our nation’s homes, schools and workplaces,” Brackett said, summarizing his research’s mission.

As such, Brackett’s recent work centers around infusing school systems with information about emotional intelligence through an evidence-based approach called RULER. RULER is an acronym for the five key emotional intelligence skills that Brackett has identified as vital for all ages to learn — recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing and regulating.

As such, RULER teaches not only children, but also staff, about emotional intelligence at the schools where the curriculum is implemented. Brackett told the News that emotional intelligence is needed at every age, not just throughout adulthood. 

Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, director of the Creativity and Emotions Lab at the School of Medicine, told the News that RULER is a unique program in the way it acknowledges that teachers can only effectively teach emotional intelligence skills if they work on developing their own first.

“What a kindergartner needs to make friends is different than what a teenager needs, than what a leader in my position needs,” Brackett said. “We always need to understand our own and other people’s emotions. That helps us be better learners, decision makers, relationship builders and perform at our best.” 

According to the Huberman Lab episode, understanding emotional intelligence develops an individual’s empathy, allows them to self-regulate to feel better and improves communication. 

Brackett told the news that understanding emotions and studying emotional intelligence are even more important in a digital era, as Americans spend over six hours a day online.

Currently, 30 percent of adults report feeling lonely at least once a week and 10 percent are lonely every day. To Brackett, this suggests that the digital age inhibits our ability to fully understand and communicate emotions, highlighting the need for improved emotional intelligence.

“I believe it is what will preserve our humanity,” Brackett said. “We are built to connect with other people, not devices.” 

Brackett’s colleagues attest to his commitment to the field of emotional intelligence.

Nicole Elbertson, YCEI’s director of product development and implementation, has worked with Brackett for over twenty years. She described him as a “supportive and empowering leader and colleague” who impresses her with knowledge of the field. 

Jessica Hoffmann, director of implementation science, added, “Working for him is inspiring and fulfilling. I am constantly learning and growing while doing meaningful work that directly impacts people’s lives.”

Marc Brackett’s book, “Permission to Feel,” has sold over 500,000 copies and has been translated into 26 languages.

Correction, 9/19: This story was updated to reflect the correct number of “Permission to Feel” copies sold.