5 Critical Thinking Exercises for a Healthy and Alert Brain

Critical thinking is the ability to translate complex circumstances into meaningful insights. It has become an essential skill that every individual should develop. So, how do you improve your critical thinking skills in order to become an effective thinker and problem-solver?

Core Skills of Critical Thinking

Sometimes, it’s really frustrating when you get confused with simple things. For seniors, this is not surprising because the older you get, the duller your memory becomes. But if you’re still young and yet you can hardly solve simple problems, maybe it’s time to exercise your critical thinking today.

It may not be easy to develop the core skills and habits of a critical thinker. But if you give it enough time and effort, you can improve your memory and brain function in the long run. Besides, there are plenty of brain exercises and activities you can do.

The following are the top skills of a critical thinker that you should develop and focus on:

• Ability to link ideas. This refers to finding out how things are connected and which ones are irrelevant.

• Ability to structure arguments. This involves the elements in building relevant, sound, and practical argument.

• Ability to recognize incongruences. This is how you find loopholes in an argument to reveal the truth.

Critical Thinking Exercises to Practice Daily

Learning is a continuous process. Every day, you are exposed to new things from which you can acquire new knowledge. However, you don’t have to feel overwhelmed or pressured in the process. In fact, there are fun and easy exercises to help you become a creative thinker.

The following critical thinking exercises are helpful in order to develop and strengthen your core skills in critical thinking:

1. Reading exercise. Reading is a great way to expose yourself to all sorts of knowledge available. It helps trigger thinking and educates people about a lot of things. And one of the most common reading materials you can use is the newspaper.

Now, try this exercise. Get a newspaper or even a magazine then browse through the pages. Look for some interesting articles to evaluate. After reading the articles, list down the basic concepts. For instance, understand how the articles are connected to each other and determine the theme used for each. Then give your opinion about the agenda of the newspaper or magazine you’ve read.

Whatever references you may prefer, choose something that will introduce you to innovative ideas and new strategies to help you think differently. Books about the most successful business owners and leaders are some great options. Make sure to read at least 20 minutes daily to exercise your brain.

2. “Tell a Space Alien”. This exercise can be applied to any theory or information. However, the main interest here is to practice your thinking skills. To start, find at least 10 theories that you want to discuss and evaluate.

In this exercise, you will be the curious space alien who will ask questions and at the same time, you’ll be answering and explaining the topics to yourself. Yes, you play both roles here. Explain the topic to the space alien, which is you, and make sure it can be understood by someone who doesn’t know about Earth.

Respond as the alien (you can wear a costume if you want) by asking questions related to the topics discussed. For instance, you may explain about soccer (where two teams have to kick the ball through the goal in order to score). As the alien, you can ask why there are only two teams playing, or why they have to kick the ball.

3. Interactive questioning. Using critical thinking exercises in your daily life can help you stay mentally active. If you’re attending a seminar, workshop, or training, make sure to participate in the discussions and ask questions.

Interactive questioning is a great exercise to keep your brain well-functioning. In addition, it provides you with new learning that can promote personal and professional growth. Some important questions you can ask in general are those open-ended types.

For instance, instead of yes-and-no answers, you can throw questions that require elaborated answers. If your questions require more detailed answers, that means you thought hard enough before coming up with a question. That exercises your brain to think deeper when participating in discussions.

4. Structure arguments. This is a common critical thinking exercise where you discuss topics with a group. One of the objectives is to improve your reasoning and judgment skills. Generally, this is done in schools and organizations to help develop the ability to critically think and make judgments.

Use the Barometer Debate to structure an argument with your friends or colleagues. There has to be someone who will represent the affirmative side, while the other person will defend the opposing side. It’s important that everyone involved participates in the discussion and voices out opinions.

When it comes to structuring arguments, knowing first the meaning of premise and conclusion is important. A premise is the previous statement from which you inferred your judgment. The conclusion is the end part of the argument, or simply the judgment made by reasoning.

Recognizing the premise and conclusion of every argument is a good critical thinking exercise. In the end, you will have to determine the flow of the discussion and understand how the conclusion was made. Making sound decisions and judgments is critical when structuring arguments.

5. Writing exercise. Keepa journal for your achievements and other milestones. Write all the key decisions you’ve made in the past that helped you succeed in your goals. However, it’s also important to determine key mistakes that led to some failures in your life.

Examine your reasoning and assumptions and then compare them to the actual results. That way, you can gain insights on how to make better decisions as well as identify strengths and weaknesses that had a huge impact on your level of success today.

Maintaining a Critical Mind

Critical thinking is both an art and a skill. You need to hone and improve it through consistent practice. In the long run, you will notice that you’re becoming much more critical when it comes to making decisions. After all, a critical mind will help you succeed in all your endeavors.

Just like going to the gym to lose weight, developing your critical thinking skills may take some time before you can see results. It’s important to start on developing your core skill sets before you can fully achieve the highest level of logic.

Bottom Line

Improve your critical thought with exercises that require you to evaluate situations, analyze information, develop coherent plans, and take action in order to achieve your desired outcomes. Seek opportunities around you and engage in activities that continuously improve your thinking skills.

If you can quickly think of effective solutions to any problem, then you’ll be able to overcome any challenges—whether at work or in your personal life. Most importantly, you can fulfill your responsibilities as an individual, leader, employee, or entrepreneur.

So, what do you usually do to stimulate your brain and come up with great ideas? How does it help you become a critical thinker? Share your tips with others and help them develop their critical thinking as well.