Critical Thinking - Aspects

In today’s world of quick-fix solutions, problem-solvers don’t always have the luxury of preparing well in advance for a situation. If sufficient time is provided, then many can find out perfect solutions to problems. But it’s when a problem needs to be addressed urgently with an “on-the-spot” solution that people resort to hasty decisions.

These hasty decisions are often wrong decisions and are exposed with passing time. That’s because in a hurry to find a solution, many important parameters are often missed or ignored, which play their part in the later stages of the implementation of the plan.

The ability to think on your feet is not an innate talent. It is a quality that can be honed and developed in all individuals. The idea is to keep conditioning one’s mind according to different scenarios and into looking at a problem from all different angles, so that the final solutions are comprehensive and inclusive.

Depending on this approach to problem-solving, there are three important aspects of Critical Thinking −

● Quick Thinking − It is the quality that enables a few people to give quick and accurate answers in a flawless manner when they face unexpected questions, while others might be caught mumbling and fumbling over words. This quality needs a lot of practice and depending on the amount of practice you put into thinking fast under time-bound circumstances, your answers will be prompt and satisfactory.

● Creative Thinking − Many problem-solvers can find out the solution to the problems by the traditional method, however when they are faced with a unique problem, they tend to stop functioning. The reason behind this is they think this new situation is not their problem and they can save the time needed to solve this new problem in completing more tasks of the kind they can handle. On doing this, they restrict their thoughts and analytical skills which is extremely important to hone creative thinking.

● Analytical Thinking − Despite facing numerous problems and situations daily in our life, we don’t receive any formal training on how to handle these situations using logical and scientific methods. Analytical thinking involves defining the problem and generating a list of possible solutions for a problem. After that, the best solution is determined of the entire list of problems.

Critical thinking teaches that open-mindedness is the most important requirement for learning, as it helps people to step out of their comfort zone, and draw effective conclusions. Critical thinking has many benefits, such as improving persuasion skills, enhancing communication skills, and improving problem solving skills.

Critical Thinking also helps us evolve our Emotional Intelligence. Critical thinking requires that a person change his approach to problem-solving by changing his perspective while analyzing data.