We hear the term "mental health" an awful lot lately. What does it really mean to be mentally healthy? Here's what the research says about mental health:

• It is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his/her abilities
• He/she can cope with the normal stressors of life
• He/she can work productively and fruitfully

I can't help but see the correlation between knowing who you are and what you want to do in life with mental health. If we simply consider what self-awareness provides us, we can easily imagine how that might contribute to a healthy self-image. A positive self-image gets us the level of confidence necessary to make life choices that make sense for our ultimate happiness and success.

And this all correlates easily with emotional intelligence, as self-awareness is the first component of an emotionally healthy individual.