Is it hard to think critically about something you love?
181 Answers
Last Updated: 07/01/2024 at 3:09pm
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I am an enthusiastic life-long learner and also a professor of counseling. I have a passion for peoples stories and helping to guide and empower the human spirit.
Top Rated Answers
I think it is. We often tend to be partial when we have to judge or find flaws in something we love. Most of the times, we create reasons and explanations to satisfy ourselves that what we love is always right.
yes. it is. it is also difficult, if not impossible entirely, to be objective. although I do not know your exact situation, I can tell you it is very human and entirely natural to feel unsure or hesitant. stay strong. reach out to people wherever you can. handling things alone only makes them tougher
It is very hard, yes! Naturally, you'll want to avoid anything negative about what it is you love, because frankly, you love it. But it is important to try and see both the good and bad in all things.
It can be difficult to critically view something you care about. You will have a general bias towards it and will focus more on the positive aspects. However, if you are aware of your bias you can recognize it and try to view it fairly.
Yes, I believe so because it involves a lot of emotions. And where you're clouded with intense emotions we sometimes can't think objectively. What we need to do is to brush aside all those intense emotions and focus o what is it you want to achieve.
Anonymous
May 16th, 2018 8:25pm
if you love something or someone then for your own sake you will have to prove what you are thinking critically off. if you 'have any evidence of it then you are giving your hope into something without knowing the truth.
Anonymous
May 17th, 2018 4:09pm
I think it is hard to think that way. It's because you are wanting to think simply or passionately, so it doesn't make sense and sometimes it hurts to think that way.
Sometimes it is hard becuase you may love them so much that you overlook their faults. You may only see positives or think that their actions are acceptable becuase they love you or you love them. In that case you should take a step back and think of them through an outsider's perspective. Try to put yourself in the shoes of someone unrelated and see if you are able to see clearly and objectively then. However, if you are unable to, don't be dissapointed because loving someone is a good thing and you can always ask for someone ele's perspective on the matter.
Anonymous
November 9th, 2018 7:50pm
Sometimes, especially at the beginning of the relationship, we tend to leave the reason behind and see no flaws in our partners. However, as the relationship develops, and we learn more about each other, discover the other's and our own flaws, it becomes easier to look with the more critical and sensible eye at our beloved. Nobody is perfect, a lot of us, especially with BPD, tend to idolise our partners. And sometimes this may end up badly. But, I think, we're all more or less reasonable creatures and can think critically about our loved ones. It may be harder with the things we love, though. Especially, and I'm not being facetious here, you actually love learning how to think critically!
Yes, emotion has a weight on reason, which is that on what one would lean to critical thought. Furthermore, we're talking about something you love - emphases on love. I don't think it is impossible to do so, but i'd also take in count what Nietzsche said, paraphrasing: "Love is a state on which one sees things as they are not". I think it would depend greatly on the power the emotions and the mental and physical arousal that "love" creates in someone; the anemic power something incite us with is proportional with the difficulty to think critically about it.
Yes,sometimes it is hard..also depends on the relationship with the thing or person. We doubt of hurting someone or feeling guilty later.it is always better to sound polite and not criticizing to maintain healthy relation. Even if the point is very important then how you said it more important that what you said...so remember to think from all the sides.
Sometimes thinking critically is easy but expressing it to person you love becomes difficult.I feel analysing and communicating is a art and it requires efforts to put across your point and if it is someone you love then its definatly something you need to be careful of.
Anonymous
December 26th, 2018 3:27pm
I definitely think so. This is one of the many reasons abusive relationships are so hard to leave, because at one point the person being abused may have had a loving relationship with the abuser. This makes it so the abusee have a harder time seeing what the abuser is doing to them because they want to believe in the person they used to love. In a more toned down example, with my best friend (who I love very dearly) sometimes I overlook some of her negative traits and get a bit blinded by the good. Sometimes it seems like the people we love can do no wrong, but it's important to both advocate for yourself when needed and acknowledge all the parts of someone, good and bad.
We as humans are quite biased towards what we love, it's natural to be clouded by the thought process in regards to any matters relating to something we love. Emotions get the best of us and we allow emotions to be the decision maker, which often may be confusing and illogical. When the subject arises and decision making comes into play, logic should be the method utilized, if we truly love something we'd want the best for it and not the worst, it becomes however the opposite if we don't think critically, it is for that reason we MUST think critically specially if it's about something we love.
you as a human being are going to think critically of everything your eyes view even if you don’t realise.
it’s part of being a person.
no matter how much you love someone/ something you will always have your favourite and least favourite things you like about them in the back of your head.
there is nothing wrong with being critical about people / situations / objects it’s part of me, you , your neighbor , the person you walked past coming down the road
i, myself have thought the same exact thing as what your question is talking about.
No it’s not hard to thing critically about something you love, it’s human nature.
i’m so glad you reached out to a Listener on 7 Cups today to help
Thinking critically is a natural human habit. We tend to lean towards critical thinking all the time - and unfortunately, critical thought can lead to discontent as we find flaws with what we love. Critical thinking is most healthy and most helpful only if it leads to constructive action and healthy problem solving.
For example, we can critically think about our pets. Let's say a dog which we love has a bad habit of chewing our stuff. We think critically about how to help the dog appease its need to chew by providing appropriate toys. Thus we do not resent the dog for chewing - but embrace the pet's characteristics and support it in a healthy, non-destructive manner.
Generally, that would depend on how willing you are to accept that what you love may not be perfect. Critical thinking is not inherently negative; rather, it is analytical. This means you will consider the areas in which this thing you love may be imperfect, may need to grow, where it may not be exactly the way you wish. It can be difficult to consider things in this way, but one could argue that building this skill is incredibly important for a successful life. Developing a healthy life does mean that you need to be able to consider the reality of things, rather than what you wish or want to see.
I definitely feel like it is, yes. When you really love something it's hard to see the negative in it most of the time. That's also why people say that love makes blind, most of the time you won't notice the negative sides of the people you love, you're too busy thinking about all their good traits. In some way it sounds like a beautiful thing but it might be important to look at things in a more critical way though, especially with the risks of toxic relationships or any other toxic situations, like a toxic friendship.
Anonymous
March 29th, 2019 3:35pm
I think that analyzing anything that you love is incredibly difficult. When you love something, it is easy to look past or excuse all of its flaws. And this could apply to anything that you love like a person, your work, even yourself. While it is hard to think critically about something that you love, it is necessary so that we can be reasonable and responsible. If your head is in the clouds at all times, other aspects of life can worsen. I would say that it is about a good balance between practicality and romanticism. Balance always seems to be the key!
No, I am a pessimist, so I do not really think highly of a lot of things too much. I do know that I can and will think critically of many different things that I enjoy or love. Even if it seems perfect. There is no perfection in this world, I realized that long ago. But, listening to people really helps me, personally, I know that I am not perfect and that some people hate me. I am well aware of that. But I know that I have to keep strong for my family and friends. I know that I am never alone in this. Even if I can think critically of the things I love and care about. Not only am I something. I am something else.
Anonymous
April 21st, 2019 10:07am
To think critically about something you need to focus on its pros and cons. But if you love that something, emotions are implied, and logical thinking might be inhibited. Thus, thinking critically about something you love might definitely be hard, especially if you are an emotional person and/or feel like you can't control your emotions. Writing pros and cons on a piece of paper might help you because it forces you to consider both the good and the bad. Asking for opinions to other people might also help you to broaden your point of views. But remember: we are inclined to listen only to the bits that agree with our opinion. So make a conscious effort to consider even the opinions that disagree with yours!
Yes. I believe it is, it all depends on the person and the thing as well as the circumstances. I think that if we are in love with something we have a tendency to only focus on that, rather than thinking critically about whether we should. It’s very easy for emotions to cloud our judgement, but that is natural, some people have an easier time seeing through these emotions to think critically, but some most stop and make an effort to think critically. Certainly having someone else to assist with thinking critically through emotions is a huge help, as they are not feeling the love and can help you with critical thinking!
This is the most difficult problem I personally face in life. Thinking real and critical about something you want in life.
Perhaps in other circumstances, other character traits would be easy, I would think real life, and I would not stick with objects.
But I started my own battle, which is not even the least easy. I think realistically and not to tie up with objects.
It's not easy at all. But a lot of books help me with books and I practice them. And there is improvement.And when I want something, I ask the question: Is it worth the thing in life?
Anonymous
June 27th, 2019 6:47pm
Sometimes you can think too critically about something you love, if you are a perfectionist. You can pick it apart until there is nothing left. "Thinking objectively" might describe better what you need to do, perhaps. When you find yourself being too critical, best to step back and take a few breaths, and maybe do something else for awhile before you return to it.
However, if the activity in question is something that requires your full transcendent attention, some good thing that you sink into and lose yourself in before you rise to the surface again, maybe it's not important whether or not you "think critically" about it.
This really depends on the context. However, thinking critically of something we love can sometimes be the best thing that can be done, and for some people it’s very easy. For others though, it can be difficult whenever there are emotions in conflict with reason and logical thinking... for instance, it can get tricky when it comes to romantic relationships, because most people who are in love tend to base their decisions entirely off of that, while they might ignore some logical warnings in the process, even some potential red flags. So in such situations, it is almost impossible.
Often whenever we are in love we can find it difficult to see faults as we tend to love warts and all. It may be helpful to try and take yourself out of that situation and look at it from someone else's point of view. How would they feel? Would they see things that you do not? Or perhaps things that you see, they would consider them more negatively than you? Just keep in mind that thinking critically comes at a price as it can often lead to overthinking and causing problems which were not there to begin with.
Thinking critically about something you love is only going to be helpful. It would be a great disservice to you to only look at the favorable. Critical thinking allows us to look deeper into the things we love which helps to strengthen our relationship to that thing, Critical thinking is a necessary step to understanding the things we love at their core. While this is necessary, it does not mean it will be easy. Sometimes we discover things we never knew to be true and that can be a big adjustment and it can take some getting used to. Difficult thinking can lead to great discoveries but also painful ones, it's important to remember both are okay.
It definitely is! Thinking critically about someone we love can make us feel scared, as we do not want to love them in any way less than we do. However, true love is when you accept someone for who they are, both for their faults and virtues. That's why it is a good exercise to think critically about the person you love, but make sure that you also have before you a list of reasons for why you love them and find them special, so that you can always refer to that list after you have seen them in a 'critical light' too.
Anonymous
October 29th, 2021 3:00am
Yes, it is incredibly difficult because we are always going to be in the mindset of wanting to do what feels the best for us or for the thing that we are thinking about. We are always going to look at situations with a bias whether it be personal, racial, gendered, class, or sexuality standpoint, but especially when we are looking at and thinking critically about something we love. Getting other to weigh in on the issue can bring present a new mindset or way of looking at the situation, but overall it will be challenging to make critical decisions about a topic or a thing that already holds so much love in your heart.
Love can blind you to shortcomings and red flags. especially with people in romantic relationships, you have something known as a 'honeymoon period' where critical thinking doesn't happen and you focus only on the positive. If the something in question is something like a skill or a hobby, the positives tend to outweigh the negatives. Especially over time, the imperfections, flaws, and negative aspects become more obvious. However, loving something isn't ignoring the negative aspects, it is accepting them and choosing to love that something despite them and including them. It can be hard to think critically about something you love, but it is certainly not impossible.
Partly yes, because your emotions can cloud your judgment sometimes. However, it's important to recognize that and make sure to think about things with a clear mind and be able to think critically about whatever it is that you're thinking about. For example, if you're thinking about yourself, it can sometimes be hard to see your faults and things of that nature, especially if you think very highly of yourself. In other words, if you really love something, then it can be hard to realize the truth about different things, especially if you are really committed to whatever it is. It's important to remember that your judgement can be clouded, so just keep that in mind while you're evaluating that.
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