Resource allocation, self-management, flexibility and other abilities that you can develop in yourself are now more relevant than ever. Today we are learning to figure out what information we can trust, how to accept balanced solutions and why you shouldn’t succumb to psychological tricks (for example, marketing and social ones). We also develop creativity and self-management. In this article I’ll tell you what critical thinking has to do with it and what its role is. Let’s go! The skill of thinking critically is needed not only for assessing existing knowledge and information. When you apply creative thinking and creative approaches to your work, you can't do without it either. For example, some stages of brainstorming require turning off criticism and analysis, because many processes occur unconsciously and are difficult to evaluate “in the moment,” but at the final, expert stage, it is critical thinking that helps select the most consistent and interesting ideas. How does critical thinking work? according to the author of the book “What is Critical Thinking?” David Kluster, there are five components to this approach: 1. Individual thinking.2. Information.3. Constant development and improvement of your knowledge.4. Argumentation.5. Sociality. Individuality of thinking here implies that each person forms his own judgments, attitudes and conclusions. This is how a personal opinion is created. Before you form your opinion about an object, you need to study it. At this stage, we study the available information in more detail, dive into the topic, and find new nuances. Our world is constantly changing, and what was studied several years ago is rapidly losing relevance. The ability to learn and “lifelong learning” not only provide new knowledge and update existing knowledge, but also help to gain experience both formally - for example, when you receive an education, take courses or improve your skills - and informally, based on life experience. This reveals the third principle - constant learning. The ideas of life-long learning arose back in the 1960s, and now this concept is extremely relevant, because the updating of knowledge in almost any field is happening much faster than before, and in order to keep your finger on the pulse, you need to continuously study. The ability to find strong and consistent evidence in favor of a particular theory allows you to be convinced of its logic and rationality. Correct arguments defeat criticism; they cannot be refuted or ignored. Strong argumentation includes: well-established, relevant, experimentally verified and interrelated facts; quotations from public statements and books recognized in the field of authorities; testimony of witnesses and eyewitnesses of events; confirmation by statistical information (if collected, processed and summarized by professional statisticians). Judgments that are based on such a basis can be considered valid. That is, if you happen to communicate with a person who claims, for example, that GMO foods are harmful to health, before you accept this statement on faith, ask him questions: what sources does he rely on? Are there studies that support his opinion? Are they relevant now? Despite the independence in making decisions or conclusions, the initial thought during discussion or discussion is transformed, deepened and acquired with new details and nuances. This way we can expand our knowledge, and therefore improve our ability to think critically. This reveals the principle of sociality: remember the moment when you independently learned something new, for example, about ants? Suppose it were a fact that ants are highly organized creatures. You shared this knowledge with a friend, and he added that in addition to their hierarchy, ants are also excellent “farmers” - they grow and graze aphids for food - in the process of communicating with other people, your knowledge has improved. Excited about new knowledge, you decidetell your neighbor about what you found out, and he annoyedly informs you that ants are also pests - they can settle in a person’s home, and their farming infects plants with aphids. Now your knowledge has been transformed and acquired new meanings. Next, you turn to the authorities of entomology and receive additional information and then make your own conclusion about the benefits or harm of these insects, that is, you already consider the very fact of the existence of an ant critically. What abilities does critical thinking develop? Critical thinking is only a small part of the baggage of skills and abilities. But it opens up new horizons and helps improve soft skills. Creativity Developed critical thinking allows you to become more open to new, non-standard ideas and solutions. If you are able to understand the fine line between template solutions and the norm, try new approaches. At the very least, it will add variety to your experience; as a maximum, you will solve the problem with less cost and greater effect. Example: Globetrotter company develops sports equipment and clothing. Having assessed what products customers come to them for, the company decided to give them the opportunity to try them on the spot. So, special rain rooms appeared in stores, dousing the visitor with water and creating an imitation of a storm wind, and freezers where the temperature dropped to -30 ℃. At first glance, this idea may seem crazy and financially expensive, but at least it provided the advertising campaign with a viral effect, and also caused approval for the fact that the brand’s products can be tested “on the spot,” that is, without waiting for those very unfavorable weather conditions , for which it is designed. Flexibility The ability to easily adapt to new conditions significantly simplifies life. If in a critical situation you take control of your emotions and develop a non-standard solution, the problem will be solved better than if you act according to a template. Example: during the pandemic, many educational institutions faced restrictions. As a result, those who quickly moved online won: they introduced new educational trajectories and even found new clients who were previously unable to attend classes in person. Self-expressionCritical thinking helps not only to solve business problems, but also to express oneself in society. If you are able to assess the situation and act accordingly, you will likely be able to objectively assess both your strengths and weaknesses so that you can work on them. Look at yourself from the outside and put your new knowledge about yourself into practice. This can truly “turn the game around”! Example: singer John Paul Larkin, better known as Scatman John, suffered from a stutter, and even at the peak of his popularity, in 1995, journalists noted that during interviews he could hardly pronounce a sentence without repeating the phrase several times. At the age of 12 he began studying the piano, and at 14 he became acquainted with the scat style thanks to the recordings of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Music gave him much more means for self-expression than speech. In a 1996 interview, he noted that playing the piano gave him the ability to speak. Sketman called this “turning your biggest problem into your most useful quality.” Resource Allocation and Self-Management People with developed critical thinking are more effective at setting priorities and can spend resources wisely. If internal perfectionism requires you to do everything perfectly, then by applying critical thinking and asking yourself questions, you can come to the most balanced solution. Example: one large courier service had a problem - couriers constantly forgot to call mail recipients in advance. Instead, they not only presented the recipient with the fact that “I’m downstairs, come down, I’m waiting 10 minutes,” but sometimes they completely ignored the call to the client to inform him that the delivery was being postponed to another day. Here's what the management came up with: a sticker was attached to each shipment with a message about what was included in the package along with the envelope.