Critical Thinking: What is it?????????????

Critical thinking is a rich concept that has been developing throughout the past 2500 years.  The term “critical thinking” has its roots in the mid-late 20th century.

A Definition
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.

Why Critical Thinking?

The Problem
Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.

The Result
A well cultivated critical thinker:

• raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
• gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
• thinks open minded within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and
• communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.

Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native ego-centrism and sociocentrism.

 

 

The 7 Styles of Decision Making

“Understanding how you make decisions is the starting point to making a more informed decision in the future. Your unique decision-making style speaks to your strengths and also speaks to your greatest weakness,” he says. “The hope is to surround yourself with others that make decisions in different styles to make a more informed and thoughtful choice for moments of tension or transition. When we understand our styles better, we are given the opportunity to invite others from other unique perspectives into our process.”

Here is an overview of the seven decision-making styles…

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8 Things People With Emotional Intelligence Do to Avoid Drama

 

Look at what people with emotional intelligence do to avoid drama and conflict by breaking their own cycle of a boundary-less life. I strongly urge you to begin with the first article for context.

To start, let’s understand that people who operate without solid boundaries experience many things, including:

• Difficult or dramatic relationships.
• Inability to make decisions on their own.
• Tendency to please others at their own expense. (They hate to let other people down.)
• Sharing too much with people not close enough to them.
• Repeatedly being the victim of circumstances.
• Not knowing who they truly are.

Although it may not be their intention, that’s the way people lacking boundaries unfortunately roll. They may have a self-imposed doormat policy in effect and not even know it.
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