The ability to reason or think logically is needed when working, studying, and building relationships. You can improve your reasoning skills in various ways, such as doing activities that require critical thinking, changing your mindset, and being aware of when irrational thoughts arise.
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Part 1 of 3: Doing Activities That Require Critical Thinking
Step 1. Do new things
One way to improve logical thinking skills is to do new things. Just like muscles, the mind also needs to be trained and stimulated. Think of a new hobby or activity and do it regularly.
- Choose an activity that is far different from what you've been doing. If you enjoy outdoor activities, learn to knit instead of hiking. If you like to make crafts, take advantage of your free time by filling out crossword puzzles or Sudoku.
- Take courses if possible. Taking a course to make a work of clay or poetry by joining a particular community is useful for challenging your thinking skills and motivating you to do new things.
Step 2. Exercise regularly
Exercise has a big impact on the ability to remember and think. Many studies show that the part of the brain that works when thinking and reasoning in people who exercise regularly is greater than that of those who do not. In addition, exercise can help reduce stress and anxiety and improve your mood, making it easier for you to concentrate and study. So, make it a habit to exercise as a daily routine to improve critical thinking skills. Although the researchers did not determine the best way to exercise, some research shows that aerobic exercise is most appropriate for increasing mental strength.
Step 3. Keep a diary
This method is very useful in improving critical thinking skills. In addition to helping you remember activities throughout the day, you can reflect and think while writing a diary.
- Writing is an active act that helps you expand and explore your mind. By writing down everything you do, feel, and think in detail throughout the day, you will be able to introspect and understand yourself better. This is needed to improve the ability to think logically.
- Set aside time to write a diary every day. Make journaling a part of your regular schedule, such as brushing your teeth, showering, and eating dinner. So you don't forget, schedule this activity after you carry out your routine activities that are done every day.
Step 4. Read a work of fiction
Critical thinking skills will improve if you are diligent in reading, especially fiction because it makes you accustomed to dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity. This is useful to improve the quality of thinking and creativity.
- Reading fiction helps you broaden your horizons so you can understand other people's perspectives because you're focused on the characters you're reading. In this way, you are able to adapt to other people's cultures, beliefs, and expertise as you go about your daily life. Increased ability to empathize makes you more able to think logically when interacting with other people.
- Reading fiction is also useful in eliminating the habit of judging right and wrong. People who often read fictional stories have a higher quality mindset because they are able to adapt and accept ambiguity when experiencing various situations.
Step 5. Play games that require logic
Many games require you to strategize by thinking logically, for example when playing chess, checkers, and scrabble.
- Find out a game that doesn't just rely on sight. Try to understand games that require strategy because decision making plays an important role during the game. Set aside time in the evenings to play with friends, but choose games that require thought and concentration. Chess and checkers require strategic thinking, while scrabble requires you to analyze data quickly.
- The game of checkers and checkers requires logic. Join or invite chess fans to form a chess club.
- Look for games that you can play alone, such as playing cards online or buying a Rubik's cube and then try to adjust the colors until you're done.
Step 6. Do creative activities
Logical thinking skills will improve if you are creative regularly. Instead of doing activities that require high creativity, your reasoning skills can be improved if you train your mind by doing new things, such as learning to play a musical instrument, painting, writing poetry, or composing short songs.
Part 2 of 3: Changing Your Mindset
Step 1. Be aware of the intentions behind each of your actions
Every time you make a decision, there is always a goal to be achieved. The busyness of everyday life distracts many people from the intentions and goals that make them take certain actions. To prevent this, try to be aware of the goals you want to achieve from every action you take while living your daily life.
- Focus on the ultimate goal you want to achieve while studying or working. What do you want to achieve in 5 years? 2 years? 1 year? What actions should be taken to support the achievement of these goals? Was the action decided using logic so as to realize the final goal you dreamed of? Answering these questions helps you improve your logical thinking skills.
- Make sure every action you take is useful in achieving the goal. Sometimes, people get so caught up in the idea that they have to take a certain action or use a certain way to achieve something and behave irrationally. Focus on the end goal when performing a specific action.
Step 2. Realize when you are prejudiced
Everyone can be prejudiced, whether consciously or not. In order to improve your logical thinking skills, try to be aware of when you are prejudiced.
- A person is said to be prejudiced when he responds to a situation or problem only based on a certain point of view. When facing problems at work, school, or at home, take time to ask yourself before you act, for example, "What's really going on? Why do I think this way? What are my assumptions about other people's thoughts and ideas?"
- Take a variety of ways to see if you're making assumptions so you don't make subjective decisions. It's a good idea to ask a close friend whether or not your thinking is rational, for example, "Do you think I sometimes behave illogically?" Ask him to answer honestly and candidly.
Step 3. Consider the consequences of your decision
Every decision has consequences. The right way to improve your logical thinking skills is to consciously consider the consequences of each of your decisions.
- Use imagination. Before making a decision when facing a problem, imagine all the possible consequences and then ask yourself: how would I feel if these consequences really happened? what is the worst and best possible scenario? what is the most likely logical consequence? why?
- Also, don't ignore the thoughts of others who are affected by your decision. This way, you can consider each decision from multiple perspectives.
Part 3 of 3: Realizing Irrational Thoughts
Step 1. Become aware of the habit of generalizing
Many people subconsciously think irrationally by generalizing. Try to see if you are used to thinking this way as you go about your daily life.
- Generalizing means using certain events as a basis for concluding that things will remain the same. For example, because you didn't pass an exam, you might say to yourself, "I'm an idiot and I'll never pass the exam." By making this statement, you are neglecting any study success that has ever been achieved on the basis of just one incident.
- Thinking "all or nothing" is one way of generalizing using a black-and-white perspective. This mindset concludes something happened as: good or bad, success or failure, etc. This conclusion ignores the existence of a "grey" aspect (another possibility) in every case. For example, instead of judging yourself as a loser because you're underperforming, change that mindset by telling yourself that you're a great employee and need some training.
- Ignoring the positive aspects is a mindset that focuses more on the negative aspects of a particular thing. If in a day 20 good things happen followed by 1 bad thing, you are only focused on the bad. For example, when you perform at a musical, you make one mistake, but the rest, you play very well. As a result, you judge your show to be a failure, when perhaps only you know the error.
Step 2. Don't assume
Often times, people make assumptions when faced with various situations so that they think irrationally. Try to be aware once you start assuming.
- Many people think they can read other people's minds by guessing what other people think of them. In reality, no one knows a person's thoughts without asking. For example, you might say to yourself, "Everyone in the meeting must call me an idiot" or "I must be thought of as talking too much at the meeting." If you find yourself thinking that way, remind yourself that you may not be able to read other people's minds as well as you think.
- Fortune-telling is a mindset that makes it seem as if you know what will happen in the future. This can lead to self-critical behavior, for example, "I must have failed at dieting and losing weight" or "I must be an idiot when I give a presentation tomorrow morning." Remember that you don't know what will happen tomorrow or next week.
Step 3. Get rid of the mindset of exaggerating the problem
Many people exaggerate problems when they feel disappointed or depressed. For example, you believe you won't have any money left if you have to pay for car repairs. You don't deserve to be loved if someone refuses a date. Remember that one failure or misfortune does not indicate what will happen in the future.
Step 4. Pay attention to how you perceive the current situation
Often times, many people unconsciously make irrational perceptions about the situation they are in. Pay attention to your mindset and perception when dealing with certain situations in everyday life.
- Labeling is a habit of jumping to conclusions when faced with a problem, such as "He's at fault" or "My decision was wrong." This means that you categorize a person or situation based on a specific event. Do not label and lose the desire to judge others or yourself.
- Irritability is the tendency to take other people's situations or reactions personally. For example, you might assume that a coworker who is constantly chatting in the dining room is annoyed with you, even though he or she is busy. Don't take his attitude personally.
- Often times, you judge yourself by unrealistic standards. For example, you use other people's success to show your weaknesses. Remember that everyone is unique and lives a different life.
Tips
- Open your horizons so that you are able to think logically by learning to accept the strengths and weaknesses of others and yourself.
- To prevent logical thinking failures from jumping to conclusions too quickly, read this wikiHow article that explains how to think logically and develop common sense.
