Love's the only way, unconditional and lots of it. It comes first in the biology of emotions, takes you places -- towards happiness, success, peace, growth...No, this isn't a lesson in love, but one in Emotional Quotient (EQ), that Annie Hamlaoui preaches and practices. Here for workshops and interaction with parents and teachers on the invitation of Taran Singh Guron of The Achievers' Programme, Annie is an emotional literacy practioner in the UK and works closely with children and young students, helping them understand and deal with their emotions.

Anger, fear, anxiety, stress...Annie feels it's important for us to know where these emotions come from and how to use them productively, for emotions can stop us from thinking clearly and also stop us from making decisions. "There are emotional centers in the brain and I help young people understand the biology of emotions and not let these stop our thinking and learning,'' Annie cites an example of a child being bored in a class, and how a teacher can make an emotional connection to help generate interest and retention.

Healthy emotional and social development begins from the first year of birth itself, "the baby's brain is unfinished and warmth, love, interaction helps a baby soothe and calm himself/herself, a quality which helps develop better relationships, resilience, rationality, perseverance, logical approach later in life. So is there a perfect way to do this? "There are no set rules, but as they say, it's easier to build a child, than repair an adult and so, a great start is giving 100 per cent unconditional love to a child,'' Annie insists that parents need to have simple, clear boundaries of what's acceptable and what's not and a child should not get any mixed messages. Being good role models, giving them a secure, sure environment, an open and honest attitude, adds Annie, help develop an emotional quotient which leads to growth, opens windows of opportunity and a will for life-long learning. Like good friends, smiles Annie, parents should not judge their children, but inspire confidence and mutual respect in them, "that holds true for teachers too, who need to praise efforts, not results, celebrate mistakes, for that's the most powerful way of learning. Teenagers have the ability and all they need is life skills to get on with their goals and then there is no ceiling.'' Annie is designing school curriculums which incorporate the essentials of EQ, to help students develop self-esteem, confidence, self-motivation and active leadership. "EQ's a big factor,'' she believes.