5 Ways to Boost Your Critical Thinking in Life

In the contemporary world, there are numerous thoughts and decisions to make even on the simplest routines or actions which may prove to be more severe and complex mental processes. One of the greatest weapons which allows coping with this very complication is critical thinking. In the following lines, I suggest five tips to develop these critical thinking skills inspired by Samantha Agoos’s video in order to help you make better decisions.

1. Formulate the Right Questions

Consequently, the first step would consist in coming up with the pertinent issue underlying critical thinking. Whenever a problem or a decision arises, resist the urge to jump into action and instead define first what the objective is. As in the case of trying to pick a new diet, the relevant question would not be simply, “What is the most popular diet?” but rather, “What diet is most appropriate for my health status and lifestyle?” By doing so, it is possible to avoid wasting time and resources by running helter-skelter looking for information or opinions without any direction.

2. Gather Relevant Information

Now that you have your question, the next stage is to acquire relevant information. Thanks to the information age, there is no shortage of available information; however, it is important to cut out the clutter and stick to the relevant and credible information instead. For instance, when making a choice, be it a college to enroll in or a career to pursue, it is not merely looking at a few pictures or reading a couple of testimonials that does the trick, rather it is knowing which voices to trust that are informative and objective. This stage makes sure that the process of decision-making is not clouded with myths and half-baked facts

3. Ask Important Questions Concerning the Authenticity of the Information Collected.

Having collected all the information you need, the next step is to interrogate or question the information. Questions arise said to yourself, what is this information based on? Are there any biases? Any manipulations? This stage is oriented towards debunking the information and protecting ones resolution from being influenced by outside forces. For instance, an administrator tasked with assessing a new policy attempts to critique it in a way that goes beyond the document. She or he looks for what fallacies are in the policy and who the policy is likely to benefit. This type of critique helps sharpen one’s lens from being easily clouded by weak arguments to useful strong ones.

4. Look for Consequences

A thinker who follows the logical order of things does not stop and finishes. After you evaluated information, there is an even more important – the next one step – consider the consequences of your decision. Ask yourself: What do you think will happen within, say, a month, a year? And how will it influence me or some other person, or even the nature? As an example, when advocating for the implementation of some political strategy, do not limit your imagination to the current situation only. Be alarmed of how society will be shaped in the future. It is this kind of thrusting forward that complements your decisions and actions and ensures they are geared towards what you treasure and aspire.

5. Investigate Other Viewpoints

As a final step of critical thinking encourages adopting of other ways of looking at the issue under consideration. It is normal for every human being to have prejudices and preconceptions, however, if such as celebrate differences and appreciate other’s views, one can make rational decisions. In this case the issue in consideration can be discussing with the people who hold different opinions or reading about the two sides of the story. This not only assists in the decision process but also encourages understanding it and being tolerant to it.

Conclusion

Critical thinking improvement is not that easy, and practice is required but it is worth noting that these five steps can be observed as good outline. Every daring purpose has muffered the way of formulating right questions, searching for appropriate data, estimating this data, weighing consequences, and considering other views, rendered each of those processes more effective. Critical Thought will not make hard choice situations disappear but it will surely increase the number of good decisions – and help understand and navigate this ever more complicated world around us.

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