In life, you will encounter problems while engaging in different ventures and a lack of critical thinking might lead to a feeling of helplessness and failure in solving major problems that befall your personal life or business. We always think daily and each second but we forget the most crucial aspect which is to think extra, to do the planning and problem-solving. Thinking critically means thinking in a way that is logical, clear, and rational. It involves the comprehension of how ideas connect while at the same time, ignoring personal biases. Critical thinking as a skill can develop reasonably quickly. Below are ways on how to develop critical thinking.
Question Everything
A fallacy is a statement or a notion held by many people as accurate but has logical errors. Opinions are not facts, and a view held by many people is known as the status quo. If the basis of something is rooted in sentimentality, people are bound to hold on to it. Our collective reasoning as a society contains many biases and flaws in logic, and it could spill over to the personal decisions that we make. Question every assumption you come across and seek empirical evidence. Do not be afraid to be different if you know you are right. The decisions you make based on inaccurate conclusions will hurt you more than they will everyone else.
Think With an Open-Mind
Being open-minded is of much importance to help you work on developing your thoughts and your opinions. In addition to that, allow yourself to accept different views and advice from other people no matter how much you differ or disagree. Later evaluate and analyse everything clearly and come up with a plan. Having an open mind means you will always be learning and reacting better to changing situations because you have a clear understanding of how things work.
Be Analytical
Analytical thinking is concluding by studying all the facts. Making decisions without considering all the factors is throwing caution to the wind, and it is dangerous. To be a critical thinker, one has to work on their analytical skills and attention to detail. Everything, however small and insignificant, counts as long as it influences an outcome.
Be Real.
By being real means thinking realistically. Most are the times we channel our thoughts to fantasies, big wishes and dreams. Critical thinking based on reality means that whenever we encounter a problem, we need to gather information before making a decision, e.g. from experts, peers, relevant materials and make sense of the situation.
Diversify Your Thinking
The standard way of doing things isn't the only way. Learn to draw from many schools of thought to have a balanced type of decision making. Be an eclectic person free of prejudice of any culture. Read widely and develop a large pool of knowledge that you can use to devise new approaches to various problems. Every bit of knowledge is valuable, and it could come from anywhere. There is much to be learned even from the unlikeliest of places.
The world we live in today is highly dependent on critical thinkers to help resolve issues. From personal matters, social to those affecting the global community, we need critical thinkers to help reach solutions.
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