Barriers to Critical Thinking

Barriers to Critical Thinking

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Barriers to Critical Thinking

        There are many barriers that affect my critical thinking. I understand that many of these barriers can hinder my ability and make me less effective in the decision-making process.  Emotions can exert a powerful influence over our daily lives, as we tend to make decisions based on whether we are happy, angry, sad, or irritated. Stress can lead to the decline of our judgment and logical thinking skills.

Emotional Influences

        Emotions play a huge factor in many of our decisions through life. Some emotions can inspire you positively while others can easily affect your good judgment.  If I felt overly sad or angry about a specific topic, then it’s likely that those emotions will cause me to feel a kind of bias.  It can be extremely difficult at times to keep your emotions at bay when making important decisions.  My boss once said emotional intelligence is a key factor in one’s personal and career success. He has taught me first to understand and perceive emotions accurately by reading body language and tone in which one is speaking. Understanding emotions that we perceive can also provide a wide range of meaning. Effectively being able to manage emotions is a crucial part of emotional intelligence. You need to be able to regulate your emotions and respond appropriately to the emotions of others.

Stress

        Stress is excessive demands we put on our body or mind, producing physical or psychological strain. There are many things that cause stress; daily responsibilities, family, relationships, career, etc. Stress can impair our thinking and ability to make decisions in many ways. That’s why it is important to recognize when we are experiencing stress and find the source of it. In life, sometimes the cause of our initial stress is ourselves. I know I tend to be my worst critic, over analyzing everything and always getting inside my head. Making big decisions can also be a source of stress alone and make the situation worse. The amount of stress you're under or experiencing could potentially affect the way you make decisions. An effective way you can manage stress would be to practice healthy coping strategies. There are many ways to relieve stress, and I have tried many. The key is to continue experimenting until you find what works best for you.