I register for this Critical Thinking Class to complete one of my requirements in General Education. Since I already knew how to think; I assume this would be a refresher class. How wrong I was to place a barrier on my thinking process. These past two weeks have shown me; personal barriers I didn’t know I had. My personal barriers range from sibling rivalry, my own preconceived notions, surroundings, peer pressure, family, past experiences and envy.
I will discuss some of these personal barriers below and how Critical Thinking changes my thoughts and how I saw things. As a child; my hometown became my window to the world. From that world; what I saw, heard and felt shape my view points and thinking. I absorb from my family, friends, strangers and community how to handle different situations in life. From my family thinking came last in many situations or not at all. One particular situation; I let sibling rivalry rule my actions and my thoughts. My grandfather’s watch was found broken and the last person I saw with it was my brother.
I knew who did it and quickly informed my mother. My brother paid for my need to upstage him or do something good in my mother’s eyes. But in the end; I convicted my brother wrongly by jumping to conclusion quickly and not realizing my mistake. There was no thinking, no asking questions only my biases that passes judgment on my brother. Critical Thinking would have save my brother pain, did away with the personal biases and clear the fog of sibling rivalry for me. Personal Barriers to Critical Thinking 3 Then I would have seen my mistake, my feelings to get even with my brother and I had no ideal how the watch was broken.
After leaving home; I had to deal with peer pressure and obtaining others approval which only confused my thinking more. By agreeing with everything my friends did or said to look good, not shake the boat and becoming a crowd pleaser. A follower, to part of a team outweighing everything I was taught and my thoughts no longer matter. Looking on the outside for approval from others had me questioning everything I knew was right trying to change my thinking to match my friends. Which I should have known was impossible; if I had applied Critical Thinking to this situation.
I would have analyze what friendship meant and look inside myself instead of out. I would have known no one should make another feel less important. My thoughts and beliefs were my own wrong or right I was the only one who could change them. If I had been honest with myself and really look and thought about what I was doing it would have never happen. Last but not least my favorite; I let past experience and mistakes judge present events. No matter how many times I tell myself I won’t do it again; judge someone by their past mistakes I do it. I’m trying to understand why I can’t control it or why I do it, but it must stop.
Due to being wrong on several occasions, arguing to the end that I was right and hurting others. I guess it’s true; that it’s easier to forgive than it is to forget; I have to change that. The past is just that and the future is now by incorporating Critical Thinking into my present I will change for the better. No more grudges or blaming someone else for my mistakes and the first person I should look at is me and then go outward for answers and information. Personal Barriers to Critical Thinking 4 Change is scary and difficult; for anyone who has been doing things a certain way for so long and told it was wrong when you thought it was right.
That’s how we should look at our thinking by identifying the built up barriers, breaking those barriers and improving how we think. The hardest part of thinking is judging ourselves and seeing our mistakes, but that’s how we change and growth without it we’ll continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. By opening our minds and implementing change through Critical Thinking; we free ourselves from barriers to have a clearer understanding and thoughts, to process information in a new way and make a detail decision or response.
