HOW CRITICAL THINKING CAN ACE YOUR CAREER
“ The important thing is to never stop questioning.”
-Albert Einstein
Critical thinking is the ability to think rationally and understanding the logical reasoning behind ideas. There are numerous definitions of critical thinking. According to the Cambridge dictionary, critical thinking is “ the process of thinking carefully about a subject or idea, without allowing feelings or opinions to affect you.”
Critical thinking is the ability to think rationally and reflecting, but in no way does it mean criticizing anyone’s opinion, viewpoints or anything else. Critical thinking aligns with identifying, analyzing and solving problems systematically rather than letting intuition or instincts get the better of you.
The most important question in the process of critical thinking is ‘WHY?’ You don’t just accept all possible arguments, instead you question them. You want to explore things, get to the root and see proofs and evidences. Critical thinkers consider other people’s opinions and arguments but come to a conclusion with a reasoning that they resonate with the most.
Critical thinking helps you think outside of the box! It makes you independent and a critical thinker knows how to separate facts and figures from opinions. A critical thinker is able to keep his personal judgment at bay. In your career, you are less likely to fall for scams because you have weighed your options based on facts and figures.
The ability to think clearly and rationally is important, no matter what career path do we choose. If you work in education, research, finance, management, or the legal profession, then critical thinking is the utmost important. But critical thinking skills are not subjected to a particular career path.
Why is critical thinking important?
The ability to think critically does not come naturally to many. It takes time and thought. But being able to think critically plays a huge role in how successful you are in life.
Here are some reasons why critical thinking is important-
1. Ensures Positive Relationships at Work
Critical thinking enables a person to view things from others’ perspectives and question one’s own assumptions. This helps understand and respect the opinions of others and become an open-minded person in general. These factors lead to happier relationships with colleagues.
2. Promotes Creativity
To come up with innovative solutions to problems does not only mean having new ideas. It means having ideas that are relevant to the problem in hand. Critical thinking plays a vital role in evaluating ideas, selecting the most relevant out of all and modifying them if necessary.
3. Improves Language & Presentation Skills
In order to best express our point of view, we need to be able to think clearly and systematically which means thinking critically! Critical thinking also improves our ability to comprehend.
In your workplace, if you are a team leader, you might face a situation where your colleagues are sharing their own point of view on something. You may then need to analyze their views and offer a constructive criticism of your own. This is an example of critical thinking in a workplace.
Critical thinking skills are crucial for success of a company and makes one rise up the corporate ladder quickly. An example of how you can show off your critical thinking skills is through networking. When asked to follow up with a person on a particular idea, instead of just repeating the information that is already in paper, you can present your analysis and conclusions to draw their attention. The person being impressed by you might refer you for a job with a better offer or talk about you to their own colleagues. This will expand your connections and help you achieve more in your career.
When you are sitting for an interview, you have a very short period of time to impress the panel before you. This is when creative thinking skills come to work. Potential employers want to see how you have put these skills into action in the past and how you will do the same for them in the future. Employers look for employees who can learn quickly, solve problems, think creatively and can work independently without unnecessary supervision.
