Critical Thinking in Everyday Life: Make Skills More Valuable

The importance of critical thinking can not be overrated. Critical thinking is a valuable tool that is used in every aspect of life. There is always a problem to be solved or an important decision to be made. Defining and understanding critical thinking can be helpful when it comes to figuring out a valuable solution to an issue. Critical thinking allows a person to make informed and valuable decisions.

According to Ehrhardt (2011) I can define critical thinking as figuring out a myriad of information and making an informed decision about the information. Another source defines critical thinking as thinking clearly and logically about an issue and methodically solving the problem. Finally, from our in-course text book, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving (2011) I can define critical thinking as seeking information dissecting the information and understanding it to be able to define its relevance or significance.

So why is critical thinking important in daily life? From what I can gather from all the resources about critical thinking is this. Critical thinking is a method that helps people see issues from all angles. Once all of the information that you have available has been evaluated you are able to find alternate approaches to solve a problem than what you may have initially thought. The ultimate goal of critical thinking is to gain a valuable understanding, figure out different points of view and finally solve a problem. There are many different things that come into play when discussing the definition of critical thinking. All of which are key components in becoming a good critical thinker. All in all to be a good critical thinker and to understand how critical thinking works you must learn the components of problem solving, decision making, and reasoning just to say the least.

How is critical thinking used in our daily lives? Why is it important? To answer this question some examples of applications of Critical Thinking in everyday life are provided in this essay. Here are some of them:

• Reflecting on your behaviour in a situation with a person, you see things from their perspective and realize that the way you have behaved isn’t to your nature.
• When you complete a task, you act according to what you have learned and how you could have improved and gained more experience from the situation.
• Facing a situation with a loved one you start seeing things from their point of view. This takes away your personal emotions and you begin to see the bigger picture. Then you can make a better decision.

What is the role of critical thinking in your daily life? This essay shows that critical thinking is used in every area of life, but there is a greater understanding of it that is not often realized even when it is being used. In a lot of ways, the fact that we use critical thinking without even being aware of it can be very useful. Also, later gaining an understanding of how we can critically think brings the whole picture full circle, and makes our skills much more valuable.

Works Cited

1. Ehrhardt, M. G. (2011). Financial Management: Theory and Practice. Cengage Learning.
2. Foundation for Critical Thinking. (2021). Defining Critical Thinking. Retrieved from https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766
3. Halpern, D. F. (2014). Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. Psychology Press.
4. Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2013). Critical Thinking: The Nature of Critical and Creative Thought. Journal of Developmental Education, 37(2), 34-35.
5. Facione, P. A. (2011). Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts. Insight Assessment.
6. Ennis, R. H. (2015). Critical Thinking: A Streamlined Conception. Teaching Philosophy, 38(2), 119-135.
7. Elder, L., & Paul, R. (2016). Critical Thinking: The Nature of Critical and Creative Thought. Journal of Developmental Education, 40(2), 34-35.
8. Ruggiero, V. R. (2017). The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical and Creative Thought. Pearson.
9. Elder, L., & Paul, R. (2012). Critical Thinking: The Nature of Critical and Creative Thought. Journal of Developmental Education, 36(2), 34-35.
10. Dewey, J. (2005). How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process. Dover Publications.