You may think of critical thinking as a skill that only business analysts, CEOs, and members of big think tanks use. While they certainly do use it and are extremely good at it, we use critical thinking in our everyday lives as well. To illustrate the point and show you how improving the skill can help, I want to run through an illustration of critical thinking in action. Anyone should be able to relate to this example.

Let’s say you’re in charge of planning the annual family get-together. You’ll use a lot of critical thinking skills to plan and execute the event. You start by gathering data. In this case, this may involve figuring out how many people will attend, what dates the event could happen on, how formal or informal it will be, etc. You’ll also scout out locations, get food and drink options, etc. Continue reading →

It’s not always easy to get those critical thoughts going when you need to. If you find yourself struggling to get started, you might like to try one of these five tips to spark that first critical thought. Once you get the ball rolling, it’s usually easy to keep going. When you do come across a stumbling block, return to this list and implement another tip until you find that ultimate solution and are ready to move forward.

Ask an Open-Ended Question

The best place to start is to ask yourself a very open-ended question. What it is will depend on your particular situation. If you’re running your own company and want to improve profits, you may ask yourself what else you could do to increase your customer base and get more sales. If you’re working on decluttering your home or simplifying your life, you could ask yourself what you can live without or no longer need. Continue reading →