Stages of Development Essay Example for Free

Stages of Development Essay Thus, he or she is â€Å"challenged† to identify which skills he or she lacks to reflect upon how to improve his or her thinking †¢ Stage Three: The Beginning Thinker wherein the individual is already taking steps to improve upon and understand his or her thinking. He or she is aware that improving his or her thinking is not just a necessity but a commitment †¢ Stage Four: The Practicing Thinker wherein the individual is not only taking the necessary steps to create a systematic way of thinking but he or she also criticizes if indeed the system is working. Self-reflection becomes a habit for the practicing thinker. †¢ Stage Five: The Advanced Thinker wherein the acquired system of thinking starts to pay off for the individual, gaining for him or her a deeper understanding of problems and better insight on the difference of egocentic and sociocentric thought †¢ Stage Six: The Master Thinker wherein the individual now has a fully integrated system of understanding and monitoring of thinking, that critical thinking is now intuitive. Master thinkers not only practice but are actively seeking ways to improve their thinking, exhibiting a deep commitment to the development of their consciousness Comparing the characteristics of each stage to his experiences, the writer concludes that he is at the Stage Three of Development Thinking. Since the writer has been exposed to different situations, people and philosphies, he is in the stage of seeking out his own system of thinking. Like a sift under a steady stream of sand, the writer opens himself up to a myriad of opinions, concepts and philosophies and tries to apply different aspects of these into his own consciousness. The Evolution of I I would like to think of myself as a rational thinker. In decision making, I seldom rush into actions without first analyzing each aspect of the problem at hand. I give weight to opinions, treating them as important factors in my reflections. However, I have the tendency to overthink things. My mind is sometimes deluged with so much advice and points of view that I sometimes lose my own thinking about issues. When this happens, I usually end up pleasing all sides and almost always regretting the decision. I have tried to create my own system of thinking which will aid me in decision making. My academic experience has been a rich source of these different systems since I am exposed to a myriad of individuals, each with his or her own unique thinking. In converstaions with friends, I would always probe their own systems of thinking in the hope of finding useful strategies to further my own system. One of the most common strategies that I have discovered is the technique of listing down the strengths and weaknesses or the pros and cons of each decision. I have adopted this technique and it is in this frame that I usually tackle problems. Although I have found it time consuming, listing down the differences between decisions gives me a clearer picture of their consequences. One instance of my application of this technique also happened in school. I was given a choice between which group to join for a final project in an English class. I could either join a group where the members were most of my friends or another group where all the members were merely acquiantances. My first reaction was to go with my friends since I was sure that I would enjoy doing the project. However, my subconscious implored me not to be rash and that was when I applied the pros and cons technique.