How Do I 'Think'?

For me, “Not to think critically is a preference”. I believe it is human nature to take the easy way of things and as much as possible avoid complicated situations and difficult problems. It is a challenge to think, not just plainly “think” but to think critically, for it utilizes so much energy. And to be able to think critically, I have to have enough mental capacity to do so. 

I suppose that I know how to think. No. I know that I know how to think. Although I don’t deny the fact that there are instances wherein I get really lazy – lazy to think things critically or thoroughly, lazy to use my brain and get it working. However, despite the “laziness”, I could say that I am not just a receiver of information nor do I easily accept information given to me as it is. There are times when something is presented to me, no matter how simple it may be, I tend to magnify it and try to consider its possible consequence, “what is in it for me”, its advantages and disadvantages, the other possibilities, and the like. (I account this thought process from the way UP has taught me to think critically, and the manner of how my parents have brought me up wherein I should try to question things and be not afraid to ask questions.) A lot of times I play the devil’s advocate in group discussion or brainstorming or when making decisions, I think out of the box sometimes. Conversely, there are also cases wherein I tend to get apathetic and just follow the majority’s say on issues. Basically, how I think things depends on the kind of mood that I am in. 

If I’ll analyze and categorize myself using Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Stages Theory, I would have to say proudly that I am currently in the Formal Operational Period (haha J)! Why? Because I am by now able to think things logically, even if the rigid scientific method kind of thinking seldom occurs. But, it is not all the time that I think rationally. There are occasions wherein I think unscientifically, I base my judgment on a specific thing’s salient point, consequently disregarding its details and deeper implications. Furthermore, egocentrism is still evident in me, specifically when I’m with my cousins, I think that my “drafted solutions” or plan of actions are better compared to theirs, which I know isn’t nice, though I don’t express this thought to them. Moreover, I am also preoccupied of dreaming about my future, at times I imagine myself in various occupational and social roles. And I just laugh at myself for those silly thoughts, though deep in my heart, I really would like them to happen, to be my “reality” in the future. Also, most of the times, I reflect on my own thinking and that of others. 

My thought process randomly switches from Formal Operational Period to Concrete Operational Period (the "Chaos" Pattern in Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory) from time to time depending on the kind of problem or situation or stimulus I am faced with and on my mood at that moment.

How about you? How do you 'think'? Do you ever 'think' at all (haha)?