The concept of risk-taking refers to the decision-making process in conditions without certainty of the outcomes. Creativity is an essential component of risk-taking because it means that a person searches for new ways to solve a problem or achieve a goal instead of following the beaten track or giving up. According to the study of Panno (2016), “emotionally intelligent adolescents take more risk under cognitive-deliberative conditions” (p. 5). In other words, such adolescents tend to seriously and slowly consider what could be done before making a final decision and initiating some action.
Emotional intelligence, in turn, refers to the ability to understand and manage personal emotions. For example, an emotionally intelligent person knows what works for him to relieve stress, how to communicate with other people, or prevent and solve conflicts. The challenging point is that most teenagers are highly emotional and therefore, it is hard for them to comprehend and regulate their emotions. From this, it could be inferred that educators should dedicate attention to developing emotional intelligence in their students. This way, educators will facilitate the positive risk-taking behavior of teenagers.
To increase the emotional intelligence of adolescents and improve their risk-taking behavior and creativity, a teacher should explain to them how to understand their emotions. For example, the class should discuss the six basic emotions and realize how to distinguish between them. In addition to that, an educator should propose several emotion control strategies, and students could discuss how to fix their feelings in different circumstances. Finally, a teacher should explain to students that it is normal to feel frustrated and uncertain. Still, it is necessary not to live with these emotions but to search for what should be done to improve a situation and feel better. As a result, adolescents will learn to make conscious decisions and strengthen their positive risk-taking abilities and creativity.
Reference
Panno, A. (2016). Trait emotional intelligence is related to risk taking when adolescents make deliberative decisions. Games, 7(3), 1-8.