3 ways improved Emotional Intelligence develops your imagination

Recent studies show people with higher emotional intelligence are more imaginative and are more likely to think outside of normal expectations. Improved emotional intelligence not only makes people more self-aware but also more aware of others, encouraging them to stretch their imagination and view the world from alternative perspectives more often.

This heightened awareness will develop your ability to think of new ways to approach the way you handle your own emotions and feelings as well as those of others and be imaginative in how you create solutions when conflict arises.

Here are 3 ways that emotional intelligence develops imagination:

1. Improved emotional intelligence helps you anticipate change

A 2018 study showed that higher levels of self-awareness are associated with higher creativity. Improving your self-awareness alongside the ability to manage yourself better, means you are more likely to have the mental stamina to withstand both the highs and lows of the creative development process and feel freer in your imagination.

Emotional intelligence enhances the ability of your mind to imagine new outcomes or solutions, and challenging tasks are more acceptable as you can see the multitude of possibilities ahead as well as possible solutions. And it’s safer to do so!

2. Emotional intelligence develops your ability to imagine others points of view and empathise

You will use your imagination more to put yourself in other people’s shoes, and try to understand where they are coming from. Or to imagine the different ways that a situation might play out depending on how you carry yourself in it. This heightened imagination and the richer context in your thought processes will also help you empathise more.

As you get to know yourself better, you become more skilled at relating to others and imagining how they might be feeling based on the past evidence that you gathered in your interactions with them.

3. You see more of your own patterns and those of others

Emotional intelligence is about seeing patterns and making connections, much like creative pursuits that thrive on imagination to build new things that no one has ever thought of before. It will develop your ability to observe at a deeper level, and make connections to emotions and outcomes in your daily interactions with people that are important to you at home and at work.

For example, you may score as over-optimistic against the benchmark and this is an area that upon reflection your business or life partner would probably score lower on. Coaching with emotional intelligence encourages you to focus on how you could manage this on a daily basis to allow each person to be in their strengths more

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