How critical thinking aids in problem-solving
(This is an older post but it still “works”. )
Let’s face it. Critical thinking is most important when it comes to problem-solving.
I think I have a good example.
As you know, we are considering a move in the next few years. The very first thing my husband and I did is to ask ourselves, “Why?” I mean why was it necessary? Were we just following after the tradition that says when your kids are grown up and gone, you should downsize? We quickly decided that was faulty reasoning. Just because other people do something is no reason all on its own that we should.
So then we looked critically at our house and our yard. We thought about adding an addition so we would have a downstairs bedroom. That would be the least expensive thing to do but that makes the house even bigger. Do I want that?
As far as the stairs, research has shown that people live longer when they have stairs. (Assuming one doesn’t fall.) But we use the banister religiously, plus we’re a long was off from what we consider old. And besides, most falls are not stair-related. So that wasn’t that a valid argument all by itself either.
We looked at our big yard and that turned out to be easier to solve than we thought. We’re eliminating my gardens, which I’m totally fine with, and cutting down some large grasses that have to be trimmed every fall.
We live on a hill and we’d already decided last year that when the driveway is too slippery, we simply won’t walk down it to get the mail. If it’s a day we plan on taking our walk, we have workout equipment downstairs. That problem solved.
Can you see that we are problem-solving throughout all this?
But even after all this, we asked ourselves, “Were there other reasons to move?” Our floor plan is awkward. We have rooms we never use. We have no place to easily pursue our interests except for the basement which we will inexpensively update this winter.
And finally, we decided that we are not moving somewhere that we don’t really, really like. Why should we? We’ve taken care of most of the issues that were causing us concern. We continue to look at all the houses available for sale. We continue to clean-out all the items we wouldn’t move. (I am really using my critical thinking skills with this job.)
What wouldn’t have been critical thinking is to have just decided to move without considering all the things we don’t like at our present place. Because that could well mean we would end up with a house we didn’t like and didn’t serve our needs.
Learning to problem-solve is one of the most important skills we can learn. But if we haven’t developed our thinking skills, our problem-solving skills won’t be there either.
When we are problem-solving, we need to keep our emotions in check. I love my home. It’s a real farmhouse before farmhouses were cool. I love my big walk-in food pantry. I love my high ceilings and my dining room.
I love my living room.
But I can’t make my decisions based on my emotions.
We have time to make this decision. That’s not always the case. Some problems have to be solved immediately.
But if we hone our thinking skills, when we find ourselves in a crisis we are already ahead of the game.
God bless and have a good day.
The post, “How critical thinking aids in problem-solving” appeared first on faithsighanddiy.
(PS. I’ve not mentioned principles of faith in this short series about thinking. I never make any decision (those for which I have time) without prayer and seeking God’s guidance based on His word. But I believe God intends for us to use all the abilities he gives us which means our critical thinking skills.)
