Enjoyable Pastimes Exclusively Pursued by Individuals with High Emotional Intelligence

Volunteering, reading fiction, acting, journaling, learning about psychology, and engaging in team sports are all hobbies that emotionally intelligent individuals find fulfilling and enjoyable.

Volunteering allows emotionally intelligent people to identify a cause important to them and understand the value of their time and energy to those who benefit from it. Abbeny Harvey, a medical school student, shared that volunteering helped shape her character by teaching her the value of compassion and empathy.

Reading fiction is another hobby that emotionally intelligent people find truly enjoyable due to its immersive, imaginative, and character development nature. A 2013 study found that people who read fiction and have a strong emotional connection to the story tend to be more empathetic in their daily lives.

Acting is another hobby that emotionally intelligent people enjoy because it requires immersing oneself in a role and understanding how emotions are expressed in others. The act of stepping into a character is empathy in its truest form, as it requires understanding how emotions are expressed in others through facial expressions, tone, and body language.

Journaling is a hobby enjoyed by emotionally intelligent individuals, as it allows for the identification and expression of feelings, acceptance of mental experiences, and fewer negative emotions in response to stressors. Professional coach Jackee Holder adds that journaling provides a safe, self-directed space to express and unravel emotions and help determine when and how to express emotions beyond journaling and reflective writing.

Learning about psychology is a hobby that can help emotionally intelligent individuals dive into the complexities of emotional intelligence, build interpersonal skills, and identify how to improve all relationships, whether personal or professional.

Engaging in emotionally intelligent hobbies, such as journaling and learning about psychology, can strengthen already enhanced empathy and teach why it's important to understand emotions and how they impact everyone and everything around us.

Emotional Intelligence, as defined by Mental Health America, is the ability to manage both one's own emotions and understand the emotions of people around. Emotional intelligence is associated with playing team sports, as it allows individuals to work together, contribute to the group dynamic, and recognize the emotions of others through non-verbal behaviors.

These six hobbies are recommended by Mental Health America to foster empathy skills. They enhance emotional connection, self-awareness, mindfulness, and expression, which contribute to improving empathy skills. Nat, a hobby expert and psychology student, recently shared that emotionally intelligent people are drawn to specific activities, particularly these six hobbies, to improve their empathy skills.

By engaging in these hobbies, emotionally intelligent individuals can continue to grow and develop their empathy skills, leading to more fulfilling and meaningful relationships and experiences.

Enjoyable Pastimes Exclusively Pursued by Individuals with High Emotional Intelligence