now, no signup required!
Work from home (WFH) has created many problems for people such as long working hours, neck and back pain, and even having multiple cups of coffee every day. Now that organizations are prioritizing fully remote or blended working models, such scenarios are impossible to ignore.
An extremely unhealthy habit that is a product of working at home is the high consumption of coffee. Studies suggest that several coffee aficionados use the beverage as a substitute for breakfast. Drinking coffee may seem harmless but search the internet and you will find a long list of its disadvantages—from restlessness and insomnia to weight gain, anxiety and risk of heart attacks in young adults. But then you will find as many links listing the advantages of drinking coffee (if it’s within a certain limit).
Does that sound confusing? Which source should you trust then? By thinking critically, you can come to a conclusion that is logical.
This is just one of the examples of critical thinking in everyday life and its importance. We face many more small and big critical thinking examples in real life.
If you think it may not always be possible to apply critical thinking, you can follow the Ladder of Inference framework from Harappa Education’s Thinking Critically course. It is a four-step approach to understand how you can process information. The course covers several examples of critical thinking to explain it in detail.
To understand this better, let’s see some examples of critical thinking:
Critical Thinking Examples in the Workplace
Here are some common examples of critical thinking that will help you understand why it’s an essential skill in professional life:
-
Promoting a teamwork approach to problem-solving
As a team leader, the job of encouraging your team to work towards solving a problem falls on your shoulders. But every individual in a team may come up with different inputs and points of view.
You must logically analyze team members’ inputs. And then offer constructive criticism while sharing your own opinion on the situation. This is one of the common critical thinking examples in the workplace.
-
Self-evaluating your contributions
Imagine that your chief operating officer creates a new target for the organization. Now it’s your right and responsibility to use critical thinking skills examples and evaluate your contribution to reach the target.
Knowing how your contribution is important will help you discover ways to improve your performance. The result will show the impact your work has made, whether it’s solving a critical bug or coming up with a creative way to approach possible clients. Studying a few critical thinking skills examples will help you analyze your situation better.
This is among the most common critical thinker examples you can find and follow in every organization.
It’s evident from these examples of critical thinking that it’s a valuable skill every employee should strengthen. From efficient decision-making to navigating conflicts, thinking critically help you evaluate situations better instead of jumping to hasty and half-baked conclusions.
Examples of Critical Thinking in Real Life
-
Choosing a Career Path
Should I go for a full-time college or enroll in an online course? Which stream do I choose? Should I try to get a job in a private organization, work as a consultant, or move towards opening a start-up? We all face such dilemmas in our lives at some point or the other. But every option comes with its pros and cons and, therefore, it’s important to choose carefully.
Such critical thinking examples in everyday life highlight the importance of this process. Choosing the right career path certainly takes time. So as a critical thinker, you weigh the pros and cons of every option.
Also, consider the professional, financial and social context in the form of some critical thinking examples in real life. Know your interest and skill set. Answer questions such as “What is important for me?” and “Why is this important for me?”
Don’t go ahead right after making a choice. If you look at some critical thinker examples, you will understand the impact your chosen path will have in the next one, five and 10 years. Accordingly, you may like to rethink your career path. To be able to do this, some critical thinking will be required.
-
Evaluating Online Information
There are other examples of critical thinking in everyday life as well. There are hundreds of fake news items that we come across every day on the internet or social media. How do we find the truth among so much noise? Critical thinking can come to your aid.
We come across these and many more critical thinking skills examples in the digital world. With the exchange of information increasing by the minute, the need for critical thinking skills is only increasing.
But asking certain questions will help you process such information.
-
Who published the article?
-
What are their sources of information?
-
What are their intentions?
-
Are they representing themselves or someone else?
Don’t you think if most social media users ask themselves these questions, social media wars will reduce?
Critical thinker examples and applications can be found inside as well as outside classrooms and meeting rooms. So start working on your critical thinking skills now. Join Harappa Education’s Thinking Critically course, which explains the essential techniques with the help of a few great critical thinker examples. Empower yourself to make qualified decisions.
Explore topics such as Critical Thinking, How to Improve Critical Thinking & Ladder of Inference from our Harappa Diaries blog section and develop your strategic thinking skills.
