Reflection on Thinking and Cognitive Skills
After reading the contents of Dimension 2----Thinking and Cognition skills, I immediately think of an ancient metaphor in my culture. It compared human as a frog sitting at the bottom of the well. Frogs under the well can only see a small piece of sky above it and lost the ability to make a comprehensive judgement about the whole world, not mentioning using different thinking methods and experience personal growth.
For me, the difficulties once I encountered in my life seemed to be acted as the well that trapped me bereaved me cognitive skills. Years ago, I was taking an extremely important exam that could influenced the direction of my life. Honestly speaking, I was terrified and believed that ‘if I failed that exam, my life would definitely be ruined.’ Unfortunately, with a lot of preparation, I still failed that exam. However, thank to my failure, I finally got a chance to get of the ‘well’ that trapped me for so long and got a chance to explore the unknown world. And luckily, right now, my life was still going to the direction I liked and most importantly, I learnt a lot of possibilities of life.
With the tips provided by the course, I wish to further develop my cognitive skills. I was always doing badly at making long-term goals, I think I could start to focus more on the future and set possible and achievable goals.
Here’s my question for you:
1. Do you find setting long-terms goals useful, why or why not?
2. What had you down to improve your cognitive skills?
@Hollytail. Setting long-term goals is extremely useful as they provide direction, purpose, and a clear roadmap for decision-making and prioritization, keeping one focused and motivated even during challenging times. To improve my cognitive skills, I engage in continuous learning through reading and online courses, which keeps my brain active and exposes me to diverse perspectives. Additionally, I practice critical thinking exercises like puzzles and strategic games to enhance problem-solving abilities, and mindfulness and meditation to improve concentration and mental clarity. Seeking feedback and reflecting on my experiences further contribute to my cognitive development by identifying areas for improvement and learning from past decisions.
@Hollytail Thank you for sharing your insightful thoughts and personal experience. The metaphor of the frog at the bottom of the well is a powerful reminder of how our perspectives can be limited by our circumstances. Your story of overcoming the fear and failure of an important exam to discover new possibilities is truly inspiring.
To answer your questions, I find setting long-term goals very useful because they provide direction and motivation. They help me stay focused on what I want to achieve and allow me to break down my aspirations into manageable steps. To improve my cognitive skills, I engage in activities that challenge my thinking, such as reading diverse materials, solving puzzles, and practicing mindfulness. These activities help me think more critically and creatively. Thank you for prompting such a meaningful discussion on thinking and cognition skills!
@brightFriend2998 Thank you for sharing your experiences regarding improving cognitive skills. Your post just reminded me that I haven't been reading new things or doing puzzles for a long time and I should continue to do you. Whatever, it is indeed important and also a glad thing to practice the cognitive skills in normal life.
@Hollytail I think long-term goals are useful because they give us a lot of motivation to improve and attain something through hard work. It can be quite hard as it requires a lot of patience, but just chipping away at it one day at a time helps.
Things that sharpen cognitive skills are things like meditation, constant curiosity, and of course, self-care ❤️
