More EQ For You

My previous posts about Emotional Intelligence, also known as EQ, discussed the concept and delved a bit deeper into the aspect of personal competence, so now we'll take a closer look at another key component known as Social Competence.

Social Competence is just what the name implies, your ability to understand and manage other people's moods and behaviour, determine their motives and needs, and respond appropriately. 
Essentially, it's using your social awareness to read and react to other people in an effective manner, thereby producing a positive outcome.

Much like the concepts discussed in EQ Two, there are two elements of Social Competence which contribute to the overall picture.

Social Awareness is the ability to read other people's emotions and understand what is going on in any particular situation.

Six Easy Ways To Improve Social Awareness

1. Think about people's behaviours or situations that make you feel uncomfortable or have you reacting negatively and write them down in order to better define the reasons for your reactions.


2. Think about your body language and how your non-verbal communication affects your interaction with other people.


3. Actively listen to what people are saying to you with real interest.


4. Own up to your mistakes and apologise for negative errors in judgements or actions.


5. Seek feedback from those with whom you interact and be willing to hear criticisms.


6. Be patient and realise that your willingness to improve will not occur overnight, and that it's better to take it one step at a time and not try to do too much at one time.

Relationship Management is your ability to use the awareness of both yours' and others’ emotions to manage interactions in a positive manner and achieve success. There is no easy way to state the complexities of how your self awareness and self management will work with your social awareness to create relationship management, but working to improve those 3 skills will certainly help. 

Seven Steps To Help Improve Your Social Skills

1. Take a bit of time, engage with people, and act social, even when you don't feel that way. 


2. If you have anxieties or lack experience with interacting, keep it simple and start small.


3. Let others talk, using open ended questions to encourage them talk about themselves, genuinely listening to their thoughts and ideas.


4. Be aware of current trends and events, even if you do not wish to engage in certain topics such as politics.


5. Focus on the positives of any conversations and engagements with other people.


6. Use good manners by showing gratitude and being polite.


7. Use the S.M.A.R.T. system to help set and achieve self improvement goals.

Just like any self improvement strategy, it is essential to continue to use your positive personality traits to your advantage while working to improve your weaknesses.

Dress For The Ride?

It's Spring and bike fever is in abundance, just like the gravel on the roads!

Two Wheel Sunday 2019

Well, well, well, Two Wheel Sunday must be doing something right when a cool Canadian motorcycle magazine like Motorcycle Mojo takes notice and publishes a story about this great, grass roots motorcycle street festival which is held here in Calgary every June.

What a great write up about our "free to the public" and "everyone welcome" event called Two Wheel Sunday.  Mr. Morberg did so an excellent job explaining the heart and soul of the street festival and what can happen when energetic and like minded motorcycle enthusiasts work collectively toward a common purpose and create an all inclusive event that celebrates all things motorcycle!

Check out the on-line version of the story in the March 2019 issue of Motorcycle Mojo  then come on down to visit the TWS event this year, June 2nd 2019.

Beer Can Chicken Hog

So, a couiple of months back we attended the motorcycle shows in Calgary and Edmonton and were pleasantly surprised by all the requests for our BlueCircle "BBB Magic Dust", which is Gerry's home made spice mixture. 

With such high demand, Gerry went to the vault, pulled out the "secret recipe", and went back into the kitchen to mix up a big new batch which we're now making available to all those people who have run out and/or didn't get any at the shows.

Speaking of which, one of our good friends, Tina Buckthorp from Women In The Wind, was looking to get a resupply, as she had used the last of hers on the BBQ just recently. Tina also shared some awesome photos of her culinary creation, an awesome variation of the "Beer Can Chicken"!

Check out Tina's easy ridin' chicken on the beer can hawg! 

The chicken is set up the traditional way, perched on a beer can, but the whole assembly sits on the "bike", with its' wings tucked into the "handlebars".

Beer can chicken gridiron available at Country Road Greenhouses

Not that many of us don't BBQ all year long but Spring is just around the corner and some serious grill action will soon be taking place, so give me a shout if you want a package or two of our specialty rub!

EQ Two

The term Emotional Intelligence was first coined in 1990 by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, who described it as "the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and action"

Since then, many people have espoused the virtues of EQ and it seems to be a focal point in the corporate world, both in hiring as well as leadership development. And considering those two aspects in regard to running a business, EQ certainly could be the topic of a lot of training, teaching people how to read and react to one another and maintain a positive environment.

One of the first and most important elements of EQ is Self Awareness, or knowing how you feel and how your emotions and actions affect the people with whom you interact. And, it also means knowing both your strengths and your weaknesses, benefiting from the former and working on the latter to improve your overall EQ.

Two Easy Ways To Improve Self Awareness

• Write things down by keeping a journal, putting thoughts on paper to help you organise feelings and recognise trends.


• Pause for thought, slowing down and taking the time to understand why you feel the way you do and choosing the way you react.

Another important element of EQ is Self Regulation, staying in control of your emotions by not making emotional and/or rushed decisions, not verbally attacking or stereotyping people, or by compromising their own values.

Three Easy Ways To Improve Self Regulation

• Examine and clarify your code of ethics, establishing what values you believe are important.


• Commit to admitting to your mistakes and being accountable.


• Practise being calm and collected, taking a few seconds and a few breaths before making decisions or reacting to situations.

Improving your Self Awareness and Self Regulation will go a long way in developing your overall Emotional Intelligence, helping with your personal growth and leading toward improved interactions with family, friends and business associates.

Prepare Your Taste Buds!

Yes, BlueCircle's very own president, Gerry Baert, is a kitchen magician and has been working on mixing up and packaging a whole new batch of the very popular "BBB Magic Dust", soon available for pick up or delivery! Clean up your BBQ, get your taste buds ready, and watch for future posts here and on the BlueCircle Facebook page announcing their availablity!!

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is a somewhat intangible quality that affects how well we manage our behaviour, as well as that of others, thereby helping us navigate through social situations and making personal decisions with the objective of attaining positive results.

Sounds simple enough but there's way more to it than the definition outlined above and the intangible quality does make it difficult to nail down. However, the talk is that strong emotional intelligence ( aka EQ) mixed with a high intelligence quotient makes for a lot of success, keeping in mind that your EQ is perhaps a bit more important than your IQ.

Think of a wheel, divided in half, one part being related to your Personal Competence and one your Social Competence. Within the half relating to personal competence will be your Self Awareness and Self Management. In the other half relating to your Social Competence will be Social Awareness and Relationship Management.

Personal Competence focuses on you as an individual, of course, and is a gauge of your ability to stay aware of your emotions and manage your own behaviour.

Social Competence is, conversely, your awareness of those around you and how well you understand and react to their behaviour and motives.

It's easy to see why Self Awareness and Self Management are factors in developing your Personal Competence, just as Social Awareness and Relationship Management are critical to developing your Social Competence.

Ultimately, we're all looking for positive results and the first and most important step to achiev this is understanding how EQ helps. Watch for future posts that delve a little deeper into this concept, with the idea of improving your EQ and helping your personal growth.

Oh Yeah, That Bucket Of Suck!

So, last year saw us suffer through what was a long dreary Winter, particularly wearisome throughout February and into March, and this year seems to be a repeat, prompting me to repost this most appropriate cartoon!

Spring....can you please arrive asap?

Maple Fest!

March is here and despite the lack of the right type of trees in Alberta, it's time for celebrating all things Maple!

Even if we had Maple trees in this province, the frigid temperatures would make it highly unlikely to have sap running! But hey, what better way to break up a long and chilly stretch of weather than to have an outdoor festival that clebrates our distinct relationship with the tree that lends its' leaf to our flag?

If you live and around Calgary, check out Calgary Maple Festival Des Sucres , running March 2nd and 3rd 2019, at Heritage Park.

If you're further north and want to check out another maple related festival, head to Carnival Des Sucres Edmonton , running March 9th at Ft. Edmonton Park

A bit further north and west, taste the maple taffy at the Grande Prairie 20th Maple Sugar Festival, taking place March 3rd, 2019 at Muskoseepi Park

Photo from ACFA Grande Prairie Facebook page