Critical Thinking vs. Criticizing

Today, I would love to talk to you about Critical Thinking and how it can be easily mixed with criticizing.

You know, you're gonna hear from a lot of people that critical thinking is a necessary skill set. Especially, if you are a leader and if you are leading teams, projects and businesses.

And there is also this concept of giving feedback which is also considered as criticism. Those are very similar words and concepts and yet, they're so different from each other and that's why I would love to bring clarity to these concepts. 

If you are ready let's go!

WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?

Critical Thinking is a higher-level brain function.

When you value accuracy, truthfulness, fairness, relevance, and being analytical and statistical, that's critical. When you keep asking questions about the truthfulness of the source and the context of the situation, when you analyze and evaluate things just to make a fair conclusion and informed decision, that's critical thinking.  

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CRITICIZING AND CRITICAL THINKING?

Whereas criticizing sounds more like disapproval because it is subject to people's approval.  Criticism is also giving critics and that's so easily mixed with giving feedback. When you give feedback, what I call feeding forward, that needs to be constructive.

If you put people down, and tell them what not to do and not what to do that is criticizing. That's not critical thinking because you are definitely coming from your own subjective filtering of your own values, beliefs, standards and it has nothing to do with critical thinking. 

Especially, when you are talking only to share with people, what your opinion is and why they shouldn't act this way or do this, or say that, guess what? It's all subjective, and it's all about you. It's not about them. It's not about the bigger picture. It's not about a bigger cause like what is it for?

It's not critical thinking, it is selfish thinking, and it is criticizing. That's what I call Level 1 listening and Level 1 perspective in my Neuro-Shine Technology™, and that's never helpful. So, if you would like to learn more about criticizing, criticism, giving critics, and critical thinking, of course, I'm going to invite you to visit my digital courses in my website 

Made with love ❤️ for a better world, with more love ❤️ and #ShinyMinds.

by Shiny Burcu Unsal