I just returned from a family vacation, and, I confess, I read a fiction book.
Typically I justify time away from work by poring over leadership tomes. So I inhaled this book like a sinful treat.
And then I discovered that my guilty pleasure actually helps me lead better.
According to recent research, even short bouts of reading fiction…
- improves our understanding of other human beings
- helps us see the world from others’ points of view
- reminds us that people hold varying perspectives and beliefs
The act of reading fiction allows us to engage in what researchers call “experience thinking” – our emotional connection to the characters causes us to explain and empathize with their behaviors, even if we don’t agree with them.
How does this help us in the non-fiction world? By increasing our social cognition and strengthening our emotional perception, we become better at collaborating, empathizing, and connecting with others.
Essentially reading a fiction book is training for our human interactions, no different than lifting weights is training for our muscles. Just by reading fiction, we can transform our impact as leaders and as human beings (and enjoy our downtime more).
To see pictures of my recent adventures in London, Brussels, and Bruges, visit our Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/lifemoxie/