Think Twice: A Learner's Guide to Improved Emotional Intelligence by Michael Cornwall, PhD, LPCC, CSW

When a friend asked me to Think Twice: A Learner's Guide to Improved Emotional Intelligence by Michael Cornwall shortly after it was released, I was excited to read a new take on it because I'd read quite a bit about emotional intelligence before. I ordered it right away and then left it on my to-be-read shelf until recently. I finally picked it up and started reading. I wish I hadn't. From the gaslighting linguistic style to the manipulation of the elements of emotional intelligence to the overuse of bold and italic fonts, I struggled to finish it. In fact, I almost quit reading it several times. I kept reading out of a sense of obligation to my friend because I hoped Cornwall would pull it together in a way that made sense.  The overall message of Think Twice seems to be that whatever emotion one has is wrong (think twice) and that one doesn't have the right to set boundaries because how one reacts to other people is the problem no matter what. Think Twice seems to miss the point of emotional intelligence completely by focusing on blame and shame instead of on how self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills interact to develop emotional intelligence.

 If you want to read a good book on emotional intelligence, read Daniel Goleman's book Emotional Intelligence.

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