Critical Thinking

A couple of weeks ago I had a lecture about critical thinking. It was weird, because critical thinking seems like a common sense thing (...but I guess we also had a lecture about caring in that class as well...) I guess it's strange to actually be taught something that most people expect you to know how to do. During the class, I came to the realization that I'm not a good critical thinker. Unless somebody or something forces me to think about things, I won't. I would sooner sit back and let life happen and experience it, than "waste" my time thinking about things and analyzing them. I know that it's not really a waste of time, but sometimes I feel like it is. I think that I miss valuable lessons when I don't look for things in my day to learn from. On the other hand, I don't want to get so focused on that, that I forget to just live and enjoy life...I think that there should be a healthy medium. Ok, so now I feel like I'm actually a pretty good critical thinker because I've done my analyzing for the day....but I don't really think that's enough. I think that critical thinking is a lifestyle. I can't just say, "I've done my critical thinking for the day, now I can sit back and relax". I think that the part that I'm bad at is critically thinking about everything (for example, what I am being taught at school, at church, and what I watch on TV, etc...). Come to think of it, I like sitting down and analyzing things (like now)...but when it comes to the everyday things that I allow myself to be influenced by, I don't really act as if it's necessary. I think I've talked in a circle now...but that's okay, I'm trying to sort out my thoughts, and sometimes it comes out like: "the air in the tires makes the pressure increase" (with wildly waving hand gestures.) *In other words...my thoughts don't always make sense once they exit my brain.*