Shadowing Practice: Hobbies That Make You Smarter AND More Attractive - Learn English Speaking with Video

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If you want to be smarter, more confident, more attractive, this is one of the most overlooked ways to do it.

And almost no one is paying attention to it.

Because the hobbies you choose aren't just things you do for fun, they are shaping how you think, how you show up, and who you're becoming.

So in this video, I am going to walk you through a set of hobbies that have very surprise you.

Before we get into the list, I want you to tell me in the comments what is a hobby

that you genuinely love or one that you would love to get into.

I am always curious what people are drawn to.

All right, now let's get into it.

One of the most powerful hobbies that you can pick up

and one that pays off almost immediately is learning a second language.

Now, on the surface, this one is obvious.

Yes, it makes you smarter.

There's a lot of research on this.

People who speak more than one language tend to have better memory,

better cognitive flexibility, even a lower risk of cognitive decline later in life.

But that's not actually the most interesting part.

What is more interesting is what it does to your identity.

Because the moment that you start speaking in another language, you start to feel different.

You're no longer just operating in your default a different culture,

a different conversation, a different version of yourself.

And I have been learning French for a while now, so sometimes I will actually catch myself thinking: en fait,

ça change complètement la façon dont tu te vois.

Actually, it completely changes how you see yourself.

And it's true, because by learning a new language, you are expanding your range as a person.

comfortable with a new language is that you stop hesitating as much.

At the beginning, you are very, very aware of yourself.

You're thinking about every word.

But over time, you start responding more naturally.

You trust yourself more.

And that confidence doesn't just stay contained to the language.

Also, just practically speaking, it makes you a much more interesting person.

There's a difference between "I've been busy with work" and "I've and trying to keep up in actual conversations.

One of those is fine, the other one tends to hold people's attention a bit longer.

So yes, this hobby will make you smarter, but more importantly, it expands your world and how you see yourself inside it.

C 'est une autre version de toi, en fait.

It's another version of you, really.

Now, another hobby that works in a completely different way but is just as powerful is this.

Golf.

fall into this category too, but golf is a really good example.

Now, I know golf has a bit of a reputation.

Some people think it's slow.

Some people think it's boring.

And then there's a whole other group of people who are quietly obsessed with it, like me.

And once you start playing, you understand why.

On the surface, yes, this is one of those hobbies that tends to exist They're often around interesting,

high -performing people.

It's social, but not in a forced way.

And you see a version of this in other sports too, like tennis, pickleball, all things where there's a mix of skill and social interaction.

But what it actually trains is composure, because golf will expose you very quickly.

You can hit a great shot and then completely mess up the next one.

You can feel confident one minute and then slightly unravel the next minute.

don't get to hide from that.

When I started learning how to play, I didn't see myself as someone who plays golf at all.

I didn't grow up playing sports.

I didn't have that identity.

And there's a moment, especially early on, where you feel very aware of yourself.

You're at the range or on the course, and there's that subtle thought, do I actually belong here?

And I made a lessons, invest in it, practice regularly,

because all of those actions and decisions allowed me to show up like this is who I am now.

And that's where the real shift happens.

Because at some point, it's not about the sport anymore.

It's about becoming someone who can stay steady, even when things are not going your way,

which as it turns out is most of life.

Also, golf is one of the which is probably useful.

So yes, it's social, it's active, it's a bit aspirational, but most importantly, it builds a kind of calm, grounded confidence that's very hard to fake.

Now, if that one works more on your composure, this next one works directly on how you think.

Reading.

Now a lot of people read and it doesn't change anything.

They finish the book, they think, "Oh yeah, that was interesting," and then they go right back to thinking the same way that they did before.

There are lots of benefits to making reading one of your hobbies.

Yes, it makes you smarter.

You are absolutely exposed to new ideas, new frameworks, different ways of seeing things, and then over time that compounds.

It also makes you a more interesting person to talk to because You have something substantial to talk about.

Another benefit of reading is much more subtle.

It changes the voice in your head.

Because most people don't realize the quality of your thinking is not fixed.

It's influenced constantly by what you're consuming.

And this is something that I have been very intentional about for years.

Not just reading more, but reading better.

Books that

In fact, I just made a video where I break down 21 books

that genuinely changed how I think and the core ideas from each one.

I also made a video about how important it is to upgrade your inputs when you're on a journey of reinventing yourself.

And yes, reading is definitely one of those key inputs.

So if you are someone who wants to be more intentional with what you're reading, those two videos are a really good place to start.

So yes, reading can absolutely make you smarter.

And more importantly, it upgrades your thinking and that changes everything downstream.

And actually, I would love to hear if there is one book that changed how you think.

I am always curious about that, so let me know in the comments.

Now this next one builds a completely different kind of intelligence

and it's one that most people don't have a lot of experience with: learning to play an instrument.

a lot of people like the idea of but don't actually stick with.

Because at the beginning, it's not very rewarding.

You're slow, you're a bit awkward, it doesn't sound great, and there's a very strong temptation to quit early.

But playing an instrument is definitely something that can make you much more interesting.

This is not something that I can claim myself.

I have tried a few times when I was younger, I did take piano lessons for a while,

but I never really felt the joy doing it so I gave it up after a while.

I do kind of wish that I had tried out some different instruments

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or maybe stuck with piano a little longer

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but I definitely find it magnetic when I meet someone who can play a musical instrument.

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I think learning to play an instrument teaches you how to stay with something long enough to get good

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which is a very rare experience because the truth is most of us spend our time in things that we are

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But with an instrument, by definition, you have to do something uncomfortable in the beginning, just like many of the other hobbies that we've talked about so far,

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like languages and golf.

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Progress is slow.

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It's incremental.

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Sometimes it's almost invisible.

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And then, over time, something shifts.

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You realize that you are no longer the person who gives up early.

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You are someone who can tolerate the middle.

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The part where you're not any good yet, but you keep going anyway.

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Which, to be honest, is where most valuable things in life actually live.

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So yes, playing a musical instrument, it's creative, it's expressive, it's definitely impressive.

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But more than that, it builds patience and discipline and a kind of quiet persistence that carries into everything else.

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Now this next one is a bit more getting food on the table.

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I mean learning how to cook well.

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Because a lot of people treat cooking as a chore, something to just get through, something to outsource, something to do as quickly as possible.

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But when you actually learn how to cook, even at a fairly simple level, it becomes something else entirely.

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It's attractive.

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It's social.

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It changes how you host,

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raises your standards, not just in food, but in how you live.

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And I've noticed this in my own life.

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A little while ago, I decided to get really intentional about mastering a few signature dishes that I make really well,

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like a proper coq au vin and flourless chocolate cake and my own chili recipe that I have perfected over the years.

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And I really love approaching cooking like

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prepared and you're experimenting to find just the right way to poach an egg or cook a steak.

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You're no longer just consuming whatever is easiest.

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You're creating something.

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And that shifts your relationship with your day to day life.

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You start to build small rituals.

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The way you prepare a meal, the way you set a table, the way you slow things down even slightly.

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And those things add up.

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a really good meal.

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It's a very underrated form of competence.

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So yes, it's practical, but more than that, it shifts you from reacting to your life to curating and shaping it.

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Now, before we go on to hobby number six, just quick pause for a second.

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If you are watching this and thinking, okay, I know I want something to shift,

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but you can also see how easy it is to fall back into the same patterns,

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free guide called the Self -Sabotage Recovery Guide.

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It walks you through those patterns that quietly keep

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so many people stuck and stop you from making changes like the ones that I've been talking about, like adopting some new hobbies or new standards for your life.

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And the guide shows you how to start getting out of your own way.

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So I will link it below if you want to grab it again for free.

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All right, let's keep going.

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The next hobby that I want to talk about is writing.

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And Or it can be more structured writing.

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It doesn't really matter.

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What matters is that you're putting your thoughts somewhere that you can actually see them.

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Because most people are walking around with a constant stream of thought in their head

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and they never really stop to examine them.

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They just react to them.

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very real for me.

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So I've been journaling for years consistently.

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Like I have stacks of journals.

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And it's one of those habits that seems simple, but compounds in a very powerful way over time.

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Because the real benefit is this, it shows you your patterns.

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And once you can see your patterns, you can actually change them.

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A lot of what keeps people stuck isn't a lack of knowledge.

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It's the about who they are and what they can do.

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And those are very hard to shift when they're just in your head.

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And honestly, even writing my first nonfiction book, which is coming out soon, has reinforced this even more.

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Because when you're writing at that level, you can't stay vague.

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You have to get really clear on what you actually think, what you actually believe.

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And that's what writing does.

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It creates distance.

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You can see what you're thinking.

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just completely inside it.

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And that's where change starts.

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Also, sometimes you write something down and immediately realize, oh, that's the story I've been running.

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And it's not nearly as convincing when you can actually see it.

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So yes, writing gives you clarity, but more than that, it helps you to get out of your own way.

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Now, this next one takes that internal clarity and puts it out that a lot of people instinctively avoid.

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I think we have all heard the stat about how people fear public speaking more than death, which just shows how primal this fear can be.

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With public speaking, you're visible.

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You're being evaluated.

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You're vulnerable to judgment and rejection and humiliation.

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And yes, those do sound like bad things,

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but just stick with me for a sec because there are a whole doing more public speaking.

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One of the benefits is that you become more confident.

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I talk about this a lot in other videos

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that it's not about waiting to become more confident so that you can then do scary things like speaking.

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When you do the scary things and prove to yourself that you can handle it, even when it doesn't go all that great at first,

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that's the stuff that gives you more confidence.

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it.

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And more than that, when you make a decision to do some public speaking, what it actually does is force an identity shift.

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Because you cannot keep seeing yourself as, I'm not really that kind of person, and also put yourself out there.

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At some point, something has to change.

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Either you hold back or you expand.

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And this hobby doesn't really let you stay on YouTube,

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speaking regularly, and more recently doing my TEDx talk, those are not things that I would have naturally seen myself doing years ago,

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but the act of doing them, changes you.

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You get more comfortable expressing your ideas.

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You trust your voice more.

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You stop overthinking quite as much.

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And you start to see yourself differently.

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So yes, this hobby builds confidence and visibility.

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But more than that, it expands what you believe you're capable of.

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Now this next one works in almost the opposite way.

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It's much quieter but just as powerful.

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some of the obvious benefits of something like yoga or Pilates are the changes to your physical presence,

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your posture, your movement, the way that you carry yourself.

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There's a certain kind of calm, grounded energy that comes with it.

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And as you practice consistently, what it's really doing is regulating your nervous system.

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And that affects everything.

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This has been a constant in school, mostly as a way to manage stress.

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And it stayed with me through different phases.

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So during pregnancy with regular prenatal yoga,

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and then later it became a really important part of how I supported my body through an autoimmune illness.

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And what I have found is that it's not just about flexibility or strength.

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It's about how you respond to things.

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You become a bit less reactive, aware of what is happening in your body,

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which in most situations is a useful upgrade.

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Because when your nervous system is more regulated, you make better decisions.

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You handle stress differently.

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You don't get pulled off track as easily.

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So yes, it changes how you look and move,

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but more importantly, it changes how you feel and how you respond to your life.

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Action.

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Travel.

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And I really do think travel can function as a hobby, not just an occasional holiday,

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but something that you intentionally value and build into your life.

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Because travel gives you things that are hard to get any other way.

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Perspective.

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Novelty.

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energy.

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It wakes you up a bit.

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You notice more.

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You become more curious.

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And then you come back with fresh eyes.

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It also makes you much more interesting.

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You have stories and experiences and a broader sense of the world.

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And that tends to come through in conversation, in confidence, and in how you relate to people.

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Travel has enriched my own life enormously.

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After graduating several weeks which was such a formative experience.

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Later my husband and I did a lot of travel before we had kids.

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We went to Thailand, Hong Kong, we went on an African safari

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and now in this season of life we have created second homes for ourselves in France and London.

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So travel has become woven into how we live.

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We actually share some of that on our vlog channel as well, our travels and this of building.

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So yes, travel can be fun and beautiful, but it's also energizing and enriching, and one of the best ways to keep life feeling expansive.

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And you also get very good at figuring things out on the fly, which is a useful skill in general.

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Now this last one brings things back in slightly, but sharpens how you think in a very precise way.

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Learning a precision -based skill.

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how to edit video, or playing cards strategically, even something like calligraphy or design, or anything that requires detail and concentration.

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So these hobbies train a kind of focus that a lot of people are losing.

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You have to pay attention, you have to slow down, you have to notice small things, and that alone is valuable.

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They also sharpen how you think, how you start recognizing patterns, and thinking ahead, and making small adjustments.

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You become observant and more mentally engaged.

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And in a world where so much is fast and distracted and surface level, there's something really powerful about developing depth of attention.

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Also, these hobbies are very humbling.

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They look easy right up until you try them.

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So yes, they can make you smarter.

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And they also keep your mind active and focused and sharp.

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Now, if you step back and look hobbies isn't just that they make you smarter or more attractive.

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They make life richer.

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They keep you growing.

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They give you fresh energy and they help you become a more engaged, interesting version of yourself.

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Now, maybe as you're watching this, part of you is thinking, okay, that all sounds great, but it also sounds like effort,

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learning something new, starting as a beginner and sticking whether you would actually stay motivated. So

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if that's you, I want you to watch this next video where I unpack everything you need to know about motivation

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and why you feel unmotivated.

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Because motivation is usually misunderstood, and once you understand what is really going on, change gets a lot easier.

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So I will link it on the next screen, and then I will see you there.

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Thank you.

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Wait, too close.

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I don't want to knock it over.

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Okay.

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Alright, let's roll.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 270 sentences and 3127 words to shadow. The speech runs for 21:25. The speaker talks at a steady 146 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

hobby /ˈhɑ.bi/ (noun) — An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time.
instrument /ˈɪnstɹəmənt/ (noun) — A device used to produce music.
expand /ɪkˈspænd/ (verb) — To change (something) from a smaller form or size to a larger one; to spread out or lay open.
importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/ (adverb) — Used to mark a statement as having importance.
curious /ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/ (adjective) — Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
skill /skɪl/ (noun) — A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate.
upgrade /əpˈɡɹeɪd/ (verb) — To improve, usually applied to technology, generally by complete replacement of one or more components.
intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/ (adjective) — Intended or planned; done deliberately or voluntarily.
meal /ˈmiːl/ (noun) — Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity.
naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ (adverb) — In a natural manner.
lesson /ˈlɛs.ən/ (noun) — A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
scary /ˈskɛə.ɹi/ (adjective) — Causing fear or anxiety
input /ˈɪnpʊt/ (noun) — The act or process of putting in; infusion.
piano /piˈænɪː/ (noun) — A percussive keyboard musical instrument, usually ranging over seven octaves, with white and black colored keys, played by pressing these keys, causing hammers…
consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/ (adverb) — In a consistent manner.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

talk about (verb) — Used to draw attention to the speaker's characterization of someone or something.
get into (verb) — To move into (an object), such that one ends up inside it.
stick with (verb) — To remain close to.
get out of (verb) — To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
show up (verb) — To appear, arrive, or attend, especially suddenly or erratically.
work in (verb) — To find time or space for, amid other things.
add up (verb) — To take the sum of; to total.
back in (verb) — To reverse a vehicle into a space.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 50 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, doesn't, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/, motivation /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/, sharp /ʃɑɹp/, reputation /ˌɹɛpjʊˈteɪʃən/, substantial /səbˈstænʃəl/
Long words — get the stress right: importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/, intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/, differently /ˈdɪf.ə.ɹənt.li/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like hobby, instrument, expand.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	have been learning · I've been talking · I've been journaling
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've been · have been · have tried
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	People who speak · people who are · someone who plays
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are drawn · is not fixed · being evaluated

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Hobbies That Make You Smarter AND More Attractive - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

Grammar in this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?