A500.1.5.RB_AndersonShane

     Welcome to my blog!  I am pursuing my Masters of Science degree in Leadership and am taking my first course Leadership Foundations in Research.  Throughout this course and degree program I aim to grow as a leader and strengthen my critical thinking skills.  A good leader can be defined many different ways and includes several great attributes.  In my opinion, a good leader must be strong, honest, approachable, and must have dedication and a positive attitude.  They must reflect, have standards and reasonably hold themselves and others accountable. 

   Critical thinking relates to leaders as it involves being reflective, reasonable, having standards.  I believe as I improve my critical thinking skills, I will become a better leader and vice versa.  One valuable trait of critical thinking is intellectual perseverance.  According to The Critical Thinking Community, Intellectual Perseverance is defined as "having a consciousness of the need to use intellectual insights and truths in spite of difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations; firm adherence to rational principles despite the irrational opposition of others; a sense of the need to struggle with confusion and unsettled questions over an extended period of time to achieve deeper understanding or insight." (Valuable Intellectual Traits, n.d.)

In my opinion, intellectual perseverance is like climbing a mountain.  It will be difficult, there will be obstacles.  However, the climber must not dwell on how much more remains but rather remember how far they've already come.  Others may think you are crazy and may not understand your thought process.  You must struggle through the uncertainties but once you reach the top your mind will be free of the questions and confusion. 
  

  Some obstacles to critical thinking, for me, would be confidence and commitment.  I don't feel very confident in my critical thinking skills and struggle to commit the time and energy to reflect on my thinking.  I also inherently find it difficult to make a decision and stick to it.  In order to overcome these frustrations, I must be reasonable, ask questions, try to answer those questions and believe the results of my reasoning.  In other words, I must firmly adhere to rational principles and strive for intellectual autonomy.  I must also be aware of any fallacious reasoning in myself, especially appeal to emotions and avoiding the question.  These fallacies I've fallen prey to in the past and must overcome them.  I've also seen my mentors and leaders have errors in their reasoning which has lessened their impact and clouded their judgement.  I do not want to make that same mistake.  A leader must have clarity and think open-mindedly. 

   I've recently started meditating to quiet my mind and have enjoyed the practice.  Now, with my devotion to critical thinking, I find myself reflecting more but struggle to find a balance between reasonable thinking and useless thinking.  Intellectual perseverance is my motivation to develop the skills needed to find the right balance and obtain clarity. I will continue to use meditation and critical thinking throughout my leadership journey. 

Disclaimer: This is my first blog and I've really enjoyed the process and hope whoever reads this enjoys and understands my ramblings.  Leave me some feedback on what I can improve upon. 

-Shane

  
Valuable Intellectual Traits. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2017, from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/valuable-intellectual-traits/528