Abstract
Critical thinking provides an opportunity for an individual to adopt a more rational approach to life. It identifies the strengths, limitations, opportunities, and threats likely to be faced by the individual in his personal or career life hence playing a big role to help him achieve his dreams. Unlike other methods that tend to find a way of avoiding such limitations and threats, critical thinking empowers a person to face the challenges hence learning from the experience. The importance of critical thinking can therefore not be disparaged.
Critical thinking is crucial when it comes to the determination and fixing of personal goals, missions, and leadership statements. This is because it consists of a detailed guideline that takes into consideration all the factors in the environment that may influence the goals, missions, and leadership statements. With such a consideration, a person is assured of making realistic plans that go hand in hand with his or her advantages as well as disadvantages. This paper will discuss my critical thinking capability, my personal role model, a successful problem-solving method, and the leadership role, and finally my personal mission statement.
Me as a Critical Thinker
My post-test results are higher compared to the pre-test ones in the critical thinking questionnaire. This is because I have made a number of improvements. First, I have moved away from my earlier dogmatic views and stances and now view things from a different perspective. I have learned to be open-minded and to consider other people’s ideas before advocating for my own. I have also realized that although I am often right, it is necessary for me to review my position whenever am wrong.
My Personal Role Model/Leader
My personal role model is my father, Vester. Vester is the most inspiring and desirable man that I have ever known. He was born in 1930 in Hardaway Ala and died in November 2006. He was a construction worker by profession. He moved to New Jersey when he was seventeen years of age and lived through the Civil Rights Movement. The main obstacle that Mr. Vester encountered was putting up with strenuous blue-collar jobs in order to earn a living. In spite of his low pay, he saw to it that all his children acquired formal education. This has inspired me to never give up and to take advantage of each and every opportunity as a stepping stone to success.
The leadership traits that I have acquired from my father are patience, consistency, and hard work. I have learned through my father’s unhurried but steady steps in life that whatever is done patiently has a high chance of success. Mr. Vester was also consistent when it came to standing up for whatever he believed in. Through this, I have also learned not to comprise my values for anything. Lastly, I have learned from my father that hard work will never go unrewarded.
Problem-Solving for Success
I am faced with the following challenges. First, the part-time job I currently do tends to consume much of my time which should be spent on academic issues. I also face the problem of low self-esteem which hampers my interaction with others. Lastly, I have a problem because my professional area of specialization is crowded and chances are that I may stay for a long period of time without getting a job.
The problem of high competition in my area of profession is caused by an increase in the number of graduates. This problem is not only faced by me but thousands of other professionals in the same area of expertise. The only way of averting the effects of this is by engaging in extra training in order to have an advantage over the others. This training can include areas related to the profession. The training will enable me to move away from the present state of too much competition to the desired state where I will have no problem finding a job.
Another alternative solution to the problem of too much competition in my professional field is the indulgence in self-employment. Instead of looking for a job for lengthy periods of time, I can go ahead and start my own business which will be in line with my professional qualifications. In order to achieve this, I will need to be financially stable in order to handle such a costly endeavor. I will also need to look for other people who have qualified in the same sector but are jobless.
I owe the solutions to my problem discussed above to my role model, my father. This is because Mr. Vester taught me that for every problem encountered, there must be a solution. With this mindset, I am therefore convinced that no problem on my career path will be too big for me. By following my father’s footsteps, I am confident that I will overcome the problems.
My Role in Leadership
The position of a leader that I held in the team project was both challenging and exciting. The most I did for the team was to organize them so that the project was completed in an orderly and prudent manner. However, I may need to improve on my ability to listen to other people’s complaints. On the other hand, I look forward to being a high school principal five years from now. While in this position, I will have to be understanding, principled, patient, ambitious, and time conscious.
Personal Mission Statement
As stated above, I would like to be a high school principal in five years’ time. I believe that I have what it takes as far as leadership and management skills are concerned to hold such a position. I will make practical use of the theoretical principles learned in class in order to be a successful high school principal.
My journey to such a position will not be an easy one. I will have to rise through the ranks of a high school setting. However, I am determined that five years down the line, I will be clinching my dream job. I will be able to achieve this by perfecting everything I will be doing in my capacity as an ordinary high school teacher. My patience, consistency, and hard work will go a long way in securing me the position of a high school principal.
In conclusion, it is evident from the above discussion that my critical thinking skills have improved. It can also be inferred that my role model is my father from whom I have learned the virtues of patience, consistency, and hard work. Furthermore, it is clear from the discussion that although I may face a few challenges, I will be in a position to surmount the hindrances using appropriate measures and strategies. Lastly, it can be concluded that my dream job is to be a high school principal, which will be achieved using the very qualities that I learned from my father.