I was quite a regular run-of-the-mill middleclass human up until 1999. My social & emotional intelligence has improved greatly since then. I put it down to 3 things:
1) A naturally-occurring "New century new me overhaul" - a sub-conscious effort to make me 'grow up' because it was the start of a new century.
2) Learning, growing & becoming wiser with age.
3) Watching SURVIVOR for 23 years (From Day Dot). Therefore, learning better strategies to get what I want from other humans & regularly infiltrating/topping up my frontal lobe with more practical & efficient ways to handle/solve what life entails.