Written by- Aryan Gupta
Edited by-Ananya Julka
Every-day, we are faced with a wide variety of decisions.
Some have a smaller impact on our lives, like the dish to order at a restaurant
or the mobile phone model to purchase online but some have a far larger impact
on how our lives turn out like deciding our graduation stream or picking a career. We live in a world with so many choices, that
it becomes impossible to make the “perfect” choice every-time. The way to approach these situations is
through critical thinking. Critical thinking continues to garner the interest
of the masses in the coming decade as it involves the ability to decide on “what
is going to matter”. It enables us to take a decision by carefully deconstructing
the situation and then arriving at a decision after all aspects of the decision
are taken into consideration. Instead of taking decisions “by gut instinct” or by
“a feeling in the heart”, this method of decision making relies on carefully
weighing the odds and looking at each possibility with a “skeptic” eye. But how
to exercise this skill? The steps necessary for critical thinking are-
1. 1. Ask questions and gather information- All the magical
thinking starts when you ask the question WHY? After you ask the question,
start searching for its answers in every possible way. Then comes point to understand
the different perspectives for the question you formulated and gather the information
of it to have a better and clearer view about it. The idea behind asking
questions is to introspect and ask questions like,
“What
is the reason I believe this is true?”
“Am I emotionally attached to this subject?”
2. 2. Hone your listening skills- Listen objectively to the other person’s point of view called the “argument” without thinking of responses for a while. This can help us get rid of our own biases and decide what’s relevant. Having an open mind while listening to people who do not agree with you is crucially important.
3. 3. Arrive at a decision and think whether it is
logically valid.
4. 4. Consider all the possibilities- After this comes
the hardest part as you have to think with an open mind that why other choices are
there and what results it can produce.
 |
| Considering all possibilities and outcomes is like playing a game of chess |
Example- Banning alcohol may somewhat curb consumption but what if people start smuggling it or preparing it via dangerous means? That can affect their health in negative ways and still not solve the problem.
5.
If you still find yourself struggling,
reconsider steps 2 and 4. The trick is proper research and the skill of
eliminating unfeasible options.
Other factors that influence critical thinking-
- Your own stress level- Critical thinking is harder to exercise when your body is under a lot of stress. It’s important to have proper peace of mind before taking an important decision. Do you find yourself sweating, irritable and foggy? Then it may not be the best time to take an important decision. Relax for some time. Stress levels can be positively modulated by exercise and meditation. These have the power to declutter your mind without you noticing it.
It is not something that can merely be learnt via reading but you will have to devote to practising these steps regularly while forming an opinion or taking a significant decision.
Decision making should be treated like a muscle that becomes stronger with more use.
SO, the following can be summarised as
mentioned below:
1)Formulate question
2) Gather info
3) Apply info
4) Consider the Implicate
5) Explore the points of view
6) Exercise and
meditation
Here are some engaging exercises to get you started-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2eINI4WXkc&t=36s
1 Comments
Quite insightful
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