7 OBVIOUS SIGNS YOU ARE A CRITICAL THINKER

                                   

If you’re usually analyzing things from a wide variety of perspectives, if you’re often willing to change your mind when you discover you are wrong and if you usually over-analyze things that require a simple solution,these are a few obvious signs you are a critical thinker. Critical thinking is actually one of the skills most people need nowadays to be successful. It allows you to see things from different perspectives, find multiple solutions to one problem and solve it much quicker. By thinking in a more critical manner, you’ll increase your cognitive flexibility, thus you’ll be more successful in business and in life. William Hughes once said that “If we are not prepared to think for ourselves, and to make the effort to learn how to do this well, we will always be in danger of becoming slaves to the ideas and values of others due to our own ignorance.” and he couldn’t be more right! Here are a few very obvious signs you are a critical thinker that you should consider if you doubt you might have this skill:

1. YOU HAVE RATIONAL CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE YOU DISAGREE WITH

One of the most obvious signs you are a critical thinker is the fact that you can have rational conversations with people you disagree with and that’s why, you don’t get angry when people have different views. You’re not afraid of a healthy debate and you can really appreciate a good argument. You don’t let your emotions influence your judgment and you are not ashamed to admit when you are wrong.

2. YOU GET YOUR NEWS FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES

You don’t just listen to one opinion, since you don’t believe you can get a clearer picture just by doing that and that’s why you usually get your news from a wide variety of sources. You want to know what everybody has to say on a certain thing before you decide where you stand. Also, you want to learn about what’s going on in the world from a wide variety of sources because this will help you see things from different perspectives.

3. YOU ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS

If you are a critical thinker, then you usually ask a lot of questions. You want to find out as much as possible about something before forming an opinion. You are a very curious person and sometimes you can even irritate the people around you with your curiosity. You want to know all the sides to one story and that’s why, you believe you need to be informed before making a decision.

4. YOU DON’T LIKE PEOPLE WHO INSULT OTHERS

You don’t like people who insult others just because they couldn’t find better arguments. You are usually frustrated by the lack of rationality that characterizes some of the people around you and you simply can’t understand why they prefer to hurt others and say mean things just because they don’t have something smart to say, or because they can’t convince others to think in a certain way.

5. YOU ARE FASCINATED BY HOW THINGS WORK

You are always fascinated by how things work and you have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. You’re always trying to learn new things and you wouldn’t trade your curiosity for anything in the world, because it’s your trademark. You are often called bookworm or news junkie, but that doesn’t bother you because you usually take it as a compliment.

6. YOU OVER-ANALYZE ISSUES

A critical thinker often feels the need to over-analyze things, especially the ones that aren’t so complicated. If you tend to turn your small problems into bigger ones and you’re always looking for different solutions to all kinds of things, then you might be a critical thinker. Just remember that not all things are complicated and if you’re usually looking for complex solutions to different problems, you should know that the best solutions are the simple ones.

7. YOU EXPECT TOO MUCH OF YOURSELF

If you are a critical thinker, you usually have the tendency to be a perfectionist and you expect too much of yourself. You’re only human and being human means that we’re all inherently flawed. You can’t always be right, no matter how informed you are or how objective you are trying to be. Just try to have more patience sometimes and let go of that constant need for perfection!

Thinking in a critical manner is not always easy. You need to stay calm, to have a lot of patience and to document yourself really well before making any important decision. Do you usually do too much thinking and not too much doing? Have you recognized yourself in this article? Do you consider yourself to be a critical thinker? Do you know any other obvious signs that someone might be a critical thinker? Please share your thoughts in the comments section!