In your opinion, what is the most important characteristic (for example, honesty, intelligence, a sense of humor) that a person can have to be successful in life? When you write your answer, you are not limited to the examples listed in the question.
To be successful in life, one needs the ability to think critically. By critical thinking, one is capable of analyzing insightfully, concentrating on the right target, thereby making a wise decision.
Thinking critically can make one analyze problems insightfully. We live in a world where controversial issues are often simply taken for granted. For example, most people are reluctant to think carefully about issues like whether boys and girls should take separate classes. Recently a high school in Beijing announced that their students from then on take separate classes. Many parents support such ridiculous decision without careful consideration. They are poor thinkers. Critical thinking is but to ask some simple yet essential questions, which always brings amazing outcomes. Is such a scheme capable of eliminating underage sexual behaviors among adolescents? Does such a scheme guarantee boys and girls against negative effects? The question left unanswered, but the decision had been made.
Thinking critically can help one concentrate on right targets. We all have only and exactly 24 hours a day, but we often have mountainous work to do in hands, along with which many personal affairs seem equally urgent. Concentrating on right targets is probably the only way to overcome such dilemmas. For example, ETS has recently announced that GRE examination will be transformed back to paper based test. Grumbles are all around, and complains are posted almost every BBS on the internet. But if students think critically, however, they will find out the simple fact that even if ETS had made an awkward decision, they should concentrate on the right target – preparing test as prudently as possible, and at the same time, grumbling never helps.
Only by thinking critically can one make decisions wise and prudent. Sound decision making is essential to success. Decisions such as which movie theater we should go tonight are simple enough to make by tossing a coin, but decisions such as which university or which major we should choose are complicated enough so that we need careful comparisons. A comparison sheet will help a lot, simply by listing several relevant questions such as Am I really interested in this major?, or Are there more opportunities in the city where the university locates? By analyzing insightfully and concentrating on the right targets, wise decisions are not hard to reach at all.
Therefore, among various characteristics that may contribute to one's success in life, being capable of thinking critically is probably the most important.
