Emotional Capital - But How Does One Increase The Amount That They Have?

Increasing one's emotional capital is achieved through the accumulation of value (in the form of meaning) generated by continuous emotional exchanges that become retained and co-owned by both parties due to their positive net worth.  

Each time we engage with a someone, we should aim to ensure that the net sentiment each party takes away leaves them feeling good, or at the very least, better than they were before. If both parties agree that the sentiment each departs with had a positive net effect upon them, than it can be assumed said sentiment possesses value, in the form of meaning.  

Positive sentiments generated in this way are then retained in the memories of both parties as they are meaningful which coalesce over time, leading to the eventual formation of a good rapport: a complex of active opportunities for engagement either party may tap into to instigate an interaction.
  

Each opportunity for engagement stems from a shared knowing (a single interaction both parties found meaningful and thus have consigned to memory). This shared knowing functions as a narrative node when the two parties subsequently meet thereafter (a narrative node being a point from which future stories can be written or shared together in many directions) and affords greater fluidity in communication due to the invoking effect a shared knowing has on both party's desire to create new, or continue on from pre-existing narratives. 

In this way emotional capital can be increased.  

In short. Be nice to each other.

I Love It When People Use Facebook To Be Truly Honest About The Way They Feel

I love it when people use facebook to post things that are meaningful and don't try to project anything other the truth about what is happening for them. It takes courage to be open enough to do this, and being open is an act of making oneself vulnerable. Accepting one's vulnerabilities I think is the ultimate sign of strength.

When you open yourself up you are able to feel more. You become more receptive to your own emotions and also more sensitive to the feelings and emotions of others. Openness leads to vulnerability because we never know exactly what we will be letting in, and recognising each other's vulnerabilities is what allows empathy to grow - something the world desperately needs an injection of right now.

When you open yourself up on social media, not knowing whether anyone even cares to hear about the struggles you've been going through, you're sending out a beacon to all those people in a similar predicament that don't feel able enough to speak out about their own.

Seeing a friend take that leap of faith, being honest publicly about what life has actually been like for them, without the polished veneer, resonates people deeply and calls out to their soul (like a Batman signal in Gotham's night sky :D). It makes anyone receiving their message feel more human and reassured that they are not alone; and in the long run helps reconnect us all to one another the more people act in this way.

So, up with openness and vulnerability, because nothing can ever enter a doorway which is closed to the world.