now, no signup required!
Did you ever wish superheroes were real? Or maybe you wish you could be Superman and drive away all the world’s problems?
After all, Superman can do anything: he has a photographic memory and genius-level intelligence. He can speed read as well as absorb and process huge amounts of information to the minute detail.
Well, maybe you can’t wear a flowing cape and soar the skies, but you can match his super brain to some extent.
How’s that, you ask? Simple, you use a certain weapon in your mental arsenal that you use every day without even realizing it: your ability to think critically.
Human beings use different types of thinking in their lives. Thinking is a cognitive activity you use to solve problems and make decisions in life. Let’s look at these types of thinking and understand how these types of thinking affect us.
Types Of Thinking
-
Concrete Thinking
Concrete thinkers comprehend and make decisions based on facts. They think about concrete ideas rather than abstract concepts. In other words, concrete thinking is always practical and to-the-point.
-
Reflective Thinking
Reflective thinking involves deep reflection of past experiences combined with your knowledge and thinking skills. You use reflective thinking to solve complex problems.
Reflective thinkers avoid hasty and impulsive decisions. Instead, their decisions are driven by a process of reflective thinking.
-
Critical Thinking
Of the different types of thinking, critical thinking is one of the most important. It involves careful evaluation to determine the authenticity and validity of something. Critical thinkers never stop asking questions and look beyond the obvious for solutions.
-
Creative Thinking
Think outside the box. That’s what the first thing comes into our minds when someone says creative thinking. A decade ago, the concept was pretty new, and people often associated creative thinking skills with the arts. But creative thinking is about creative problem-solving. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how creative thinking skills can help you find innovative solutions to everyday problems. When the whole world was locked indoors, people came up with innovative ideas to maintain social distancing such as drawing circles outside stores as design cues to help people keep six feet apart. This was possible because of the creative thinking skills that push us outside our traditional way of thinking to come up with innovative ideas.
-
Abstract Thinking
Abstract thinking is a skill to find connections between seemingly random things. Abstract thinkers focus on the hidden meanings behind things. People who use abstract thinking delve into theories and possibilities that go beyond what meets the eye.
Knowing what type of thinking you practice has multiple advantages. You will:
-
Know the motivation behind your actions
-
Know why certain tasks seem challenging or boring and what you can do to reach your goals
-
Be a better team player and manage people efficiently
-
Be smarter about your personal growth
And how would you find your default type of thinking? Take Harappa’s Thinking Critically course to hone your critical thinking skills and make smart decisions.
Explore topics such as Critical Thinking, Examples of Design Thinking & the Systems of Thinking from our Harappa Diaries blog section and hone strategically thinking skills in business.
