Self-Explores Critical Thinking Skills and the Future

¶ … self-explores critical thinking skills and the future that is hoped for in this endeavor. There were no sources used to complete this paper because it is a personal self-analysis. I have discovered over the years that my thinking skills and my ability to think critically have changed as I have aged. The thinking habits and skills I currently use are different than the way I thought at earlier stages of my life.

Before I can fully explore and understand my current and future thinking skills it is important for me to explore and explain how I got to this place. When I was a small child I saw everything in black and white. If someone was mean to me I no longer liked them. I didn't' look for reasons that the problem happened and it never occurred to me that there may be underlying reasons for someone's actions.

If I felt someone was not treating me right I would lash out and not stop and think through the possible causes of their actions. It was a very one sided exchange in thinking and it served me well in childhood where simplicity is the key to success. As a small child I didn't need many critical thinking skills. If my needs were met there was nothing to think about and if they were not I thought angry thoughts. It was a simple process uncomplicated by higher level thinking.

As I grew older I began to grasp the world around me. My thinking skills and process became a bit more complicated. I began to understand the world of politics and social mores. Cocky in my newfound ability to think things out I remember discovering my political beliefs based on what the person of the hour said. I believed the president always told the truth because he had been elected to the most powerful and important job on the planet.

I believed he could not have attained that job except through being superior in his skills and his integrity. I would read a column from political activists that my family had around and I would believe their words because they were in print. I never questioned their beliefs or their side because I felt they knew more than I did. The world was still very black and white at this point.

I had stepped outside of my own little need-based existence and I had begun to study the world around me, but my thinking was still limited to believing everything those I admired said. I did not admire them for their beliefs, I admired their position and that caused me to believe what they said. The social realm was more complicated however, because I began to encounter and understand nuances of social graces and I had to think about what I said before I offended people.

These social tests began to develop my critical thinking skills eve further. It was here that I began to develop the skills I use today. I would often encounter people that I knew believed certain things about life, politics and other topics, yet when I saw them espouse their views I saw them taper them with kindness.

This made me initially believe they were hypocrites but when I asked why they had changed their attitudes they would tell me that there were reasons the other person acted the way they did and they were being considerate. As a young person that confused me until I understood that things are not always as they appear. This launched me to develop the current critical thinking skills that I use today. Today my critical thinking skills are enmeshed in understanding the world is full of grey.

Gone is the belief that everything fits into a neat little package and is exactly as it appears and in its place is the ability to digest, decipher and dissect information to draw my own conclusions. Critical thinking for me involves placing the things I am analyzing in proper context. This applies regardless of what I am analyzing. Critical thinking skills in politics for instance rely heavily on understanding this mindset.

When I see articles or listen to lectures or speeches about politics today I first take in and digest the information received. I then go to look for other things that person has said. For instance, is this person involved in some group or lobbyist action? Is this person getting a personal stake fulfilled by stating things the way they state them? All of these things go into my crucial evaluation of what they are saying.

Once I have identified several peripheral factors about the person in question I can then critically analyze what they have said and decide for myself if I believe them. The same strategies apply in all areas of life. At work when a customer complains.