How Critical Thinking Can Improve our Lives Before I started college, I had no idea what critical thinking was. Critical thinking is a method of thinking that emphasizes reflective, open minded, and rational analysis. I had never heard of such a thing before, but now I realize that it could be the key to success in anyone’s life. I have learned that we are a lot less than we can be, we have the capacity to be great, but our critical thinking is undeveloped. In the last few months that I have been in a critical thinking class, I have learned a lot, especially about myself. I have learned that I was and egocentric and conventional thinker at times. I was often influenced by other’s thoughts, and other times I was just simply thinking about …show more content…
Applying this approach to everyday situations can make a considerable difference in your life. I recently got married to my high school sweetheart and I want our marriage to be effective. Even though we rarely have problems, there are ways that critical thinking can help us to avoid any of them. In the article 5 Ways To Benefit From Critical Thinking in Relationships by Iversity, it states that, “Critical Thinking can help you understand your own behavior and your partner’s reactions. You can learn to better express your needs, improve your understanding of your partner’s point of view and develop emotional intimacy.” As I have mentioned before, sometimes I can be a very egocentric thinker. I am aware that this can hurt my marriage, and that it is important that I start taking my partner’s needs into consideration. It can be something so simple as picking a place to eat or have a date at, that can start a small argument. Sometimes we both want to go to different places, but we must take into consideration who chose the place to eat the last time, and maybe let the other person pick this time. It is also important that we both start to think more thoroughly about the things that we get upset or mad about because sometimes they are not that big of a deal. Another thing would be to use the law of non-contradiction. It is easy for me to get mad …show more content…
I have yet to become a person who is not afraid to speak out loud in fear of what others will think. It is something that has been affecting me greatly in the past, and will continue to delay me in my future. This doesn’t only apply in the classroom, it also applies to work, and other real life situations. If I do not speak my mind, I will let others influence me by their beliefs and I won’t ever stand up for myself. Another thing that I need to practice is radical openness. Sometimes I will avoid a conversation only because it is a topic that I dislike, or do not agree with. Is it important that I am able to listen to other’s points of views and ideas. This will help me avoid troubles with peers or coworkers, and increase my knowledge and lead me to a more peaceful environment. It will not only be beneficiary for me, but also for my peers as they will also be able to learn from my ideas and beliefs. I am aware that being a critical thinker involves being reasonable, open- minded, humble, and respectful. Even though I still have a long way to go, I am working towards developing my critical thinking skills, and avoiding faulty thinking that can be harm not only me, but the people around
Critical thinking is the analysis of an issue or a certain event in which we objectively look over it in order to form a logical judgment or a conclusion. It is an important skill to have because by using it, we can avoid situations which can harm us or cause us to be fooled by people who present wrong information in a way which is appealing to the general public. An example would be when someone who you meet in the streets tries to sell you a drink that can “help you become smart”. Before buying it, do your research on its ingredients and try to find out if this product has been tested or not. Critical thinking is a great tool and if we do not use it, then we will fall prey to ignorance and superstitions.
Critical thinking is more of a complex thing and a guide to the ability to think clearly and simply recall information. I can state that three strategies that would incorporate into my daily life deal with your egocentrism I have as mind that I tend to deny what I have , use "wasted "time by evaluating my strengths and weakness , and redefine the way I see things by negative to positive and also to reshape things. Let’s say you're waiting in line at the bank and like always you need to get out quickly you spot an opportunity to skip someone and you take it you never paid any attention to their needs but who will be in a much hurry than you . This is one situation that egocentrism has an effect on me because I am unaware to see others point
Critical thinking is meaningful and beneficial in many ways. It is not about the criticizing, instead, it is the thinking about the thinking process. It reflects our own thoughts and perceptions towards certain situation. In my personal experience, by practicing thinking critically, gives me the chance to build up my skills on thinking objectively, and non-judgmentally. It also reminds me of analyzing the situation from different perspectives. And this helps me to be more empathetic about client’s struggles. I have learned not to draw conclusion too fast before I fully assess the situation. By practicing the critical thinking, I am able to understand more about where the clients come from and meet the clients at where they are at. When
Being presented with a problem or dilemma is an everyday occurrence. The meaningful and lasting issue is not the problem itself, but how it was handled. With every confrontation, disagreement, or important decision comes an opportunity to present oneself as an open-minded and reasonable individual. The key to being that individual is critical thinking.
Critical thinking is using rational thoughts to effectively problem solve, answer a question or make a statement. Critical thinking allows intake of information using good judgment and analyzing the necessary steps to have a successful outcome. Critical thinking is skillful, responsible thinking that is conclusive to a good judgment because it is sensitive to context, relies on criteria, and is self-correcting (Nosich, 2012). However, we some individuals speak they miss the message, because active listening is required. The prominent features of critical thinking are the following: reflective, involves standards, is authentic, and is reasonable. When I am thinking a situation, I must reflect on what I have taken in and be truthful with my thoughts. Therefore, reflecting will lead into standards that
Critical thinking develops throughout one’s life with help of one’s experiences. Critical thinking can be self- or externally imposed. It is pursing valid knowledge to guide one’s beliefs and actions. It involves taking a step back to reflect, analyze, plan, and evaluate a situation or action. Critical thinking takes focus, self-control, making connections, perspective taking, and communicating. One must focus to search for knowledge, use self-control to determine as well as evaluate the goal, make connections to consider other solutions, and perspective-taking to take others’ point of views.
A critical thinker goes beyond than just memorizing word by word what is read or taught; in other terms we need to learn the objective of the lesson and be able to apply it in any future situations. The ability to become a critical thinker will not only benefit you as a student but it will give you the skills needed to exceed in your future career.
Understanding and using critical thinking is very important. Critical thinking is not something that is taught as we grow up at home, it is a personal skill that we have automatically.
I believe one of my strongest points in critical thinking is my self-regulation. I personally believe it is only me who can control my thoughts and actions. Events do not “cause” me to act a certain way. I am a problem- solution thinker. I do more thinking about the solution to the problem rather than thinking about the problem. In life I am solely focused on being the best person that I can be. Self-evaluation is an important part of a person’s life. People should reflect back on their daily lives to see how they affected themselves and others. Self-evaluations allow people to learn from their mistakes rather than to re live them over and over again. I like to hold myself accountable for my actions so that I am not a problem for the people
Critical thinking allows people to think on a higher level. A person is not born a critical thinker. It is something that is developed and learned over time. Critical thinking formulates people to question why they think the way they do or how something is possible. Critical thinking is important and encourages people to think deeper, outside of the box, and fuse their knowledge to best resolve a challenge. There are seven important ideas that will be covered in this paper that aid to improve critical thinking abilities.
(2)There are important benefits gained from acquiring critical thinking skills. (3)One importance of good critical thinking is that rational thinkers are generally the voices of reason in times of mass hysteria or panic. (4)The critical thinker usually has the comprehensive skills to consider all possible options and solve a problem. (5)Critical thinkers also are less likely to fall for deceptions or tricks because they approach everything with a healthy amount of skepticism. (6)Those who lack critical thinking skills often assume that everything they hear is true, regardless of the source. (7)In addition, critical thinkers have self–awareness to know the difference between a rational thought based on careful consideration and an emotional response based on personal bias. (8)Lastly, several jobs require critical thinking skills, such as generating effective ideas and making important decisions. (9)Critical thinking skills may also become a deciding factor when an employer seeks to propose a
“Critical thinking is that mode of thinking-about any subject, content, or problem-in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them.” (Paul and Elder, 2014). Like going to the gym, deciding to go back to school to improve your way of life, or saving for a long-awaited vacation, critical thinking similarly requires a self-controlled, well organized, and strategic order of procedures in an effort to reach your intended goal successfully. Additionally, along this path of success, a thinker may find themselves in a “self-correcting” stage, as one may attempt to allow their biases, partiality, or ill-informed thoughts to take control. However, a well refined critical thinker can ascertain this success by actively and expertly enhancing their quality of thought. This attribute is achieved by implementing specific concepts; such as theory development, exploration, construction, and/or the investigation of material assembled. According to Paul and Elder, “Excellence in thought must be systematically cultivated”. Therefore, a critical thinker, must purposely put in the work to accomplish success. Richard Paul and Linda Elder created a critical thinking framework that consists of three major components: 1. The elements of thought; which is your basis for reasoning, 2. the intellectual standards; which are applied to the elements of reasoning, and 3. intellectual traits; which are produced from the application of discipline.
Some people say that critical thinking is a difficult thing to do, but for me it is quite easy. Before taking this reading class, I have never “thought about my thinking” before. I am the type of person to contemplate everything, no matter if it is for a purchase, a decision, or even about what to eat. The book Learning to Think Things Through, has showed me tips to think more critically.
What is more, critical thinking encompasses the use of various techniques that translate into an exciting process towards problem-solving. As such, Reiter-Palmon and Illies (2004) emphasize that any problem, when handled creatively, translates into an environment whereby there is engagement, collaboration, and dialogue in the development of solutions. As a result, when critical thinking is applied effectively, it assists an individual to create solutions and positive experiences that lead to the development of new ideas.
It is been three months now since I joined this informative class of Critical Thinking and therefore, it’s time to get prepared for the final exams because this is the second last week of the semester. I choose to register for this class Critical thinking although I didn’t know what it entails. I did it out the believe that I was going to get some good education out of it. The class is scheduled twice a week, i.e Monday and Wednesday. Our class consist of Twenty students and Mr. Julian Beltran is in charge of the class as our Instructor.