Critical thinking is an essential life skill, and unfortunately, it’s rarely taught these days. Thinking has gotten lost somewhere between the test scores and achievement gaps. It has been left up to life – time itself, to teach us how to think, and the absence of this understanding is now appearing everywhere, to their misfortune and to our regret, with devastating consequences. Critical thinking usually begins at an early age, or at least it can begin there. Our parents impart their value systems to us when they teach us right from wrong. “Don’t steal. Don’t cheat. Don’t swear.” Things like this are black and white guidelines that everyone needs.
Beyond that, there is a lot of gray area. This particular area is what really tests our values, as many of the things we’ve been led to believe are not easily discernible in this region. In such an instance we’re left with nothing to go by to make a decent decision, so, we end up relying on the decision making processes of others. When we don’t know where to turn, it’s easy to let someone else do the driving. They seem to have it all together, so we simply hand over control of our choices to them – many cults begin that way too. There are deceitful individuals everywhere searching for others who don’t yet have any basic critical thinking skills – to take advantage of them, for as long as they can.
Protect yourself from such outside influences by determining what you stand for – starting today. It sounds overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Establishing what you believe in isn’t a one-time thing, and it takes your entire life to figure out. To achieve this understanding, develop a clear idea of right and wrong from your personal perspective, as this usually sets the stage for a strong foundation for all future personal deliberations.
Here’s a scenario. Four young boys are playing in the woods. One finds a baby bird that has fallen out of its nest. The boys need to decide what to do with it. Do they act mischievous and throw stones at it? Or, do they help the bird back into its nest? The one who wants to stone the creature argues that no one will see, and it’s just an animal anyway. That argument could be persuasive to the other boys who fear going against their friend. One boy however, stands up for the bird and says that it’s a living thing that did nothing to deserve such punishment. From his foundation of values, he goes against the boys to save the bird.
This is only a story, but people make decisions – life threatening in fact, everyday, using the value systems of others instead of thinking for themselves. Don’t be afraid to take control, and to stand up for what you believe in, even when the majority swings the other way.
Alan Gillies is the Founder of Learning 2 Live, an online Lifestyles resource which mixes business with pleasure, covering a number of Lifestyle topics which include Relationships, Health, Wellbeing, Career, Travel & Coaching. Alan has extensive hands on experience across a wide range of business disciplines including Coaching and Mentoring, Change Management and NLP.
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