Memory is one of those tiny precious things that, at a certain period of our life, turn out to be the most meaningful one. Recollecting from the past is one of the typical features of every human being; however, for some individuals, this process is associated not only with the past images and a particular set of events but also with the priceless and extremely meaningful experience. I certainly believe that every experience, particularly the one you get in childhood, leaves lifelong impressions on an individual and his further life.
Meaningful Experience from Childhood
I think that it is possible to analyze your childhood experience and understand its true meaning only as some time passes by. Our parents keep telling us that we will understand many things only when we grow up and we will really appreciate every experience, even if it was a negative one. And now, I can see that this is certainly true. Now, when I look back at my early childhood, I can clearly see that all the obstacles I had to overcome and all the hardships that were on my way were of an ultimately important meaning for me. All the memories and events that took place in my early childhood helped to shape my personality and establish certain benchmarks of such important features as strength, motivation, and belief in myself.
One of the most meaningful and important experiences from my childhood that influenced me most was my soccer injury that happened when I was in the senior high school. I have always been extremely interested in sport and have developed much time to it. My parents always tried to show me the importance of the healthy lifestyle, and that is why I started going in for sports from a very young age. After some time, I became extremely interested in soccer, and it became my true passion. I spent numerous hours training, and I never felt tired or exhausted as I truly loved this game.
However, things changed completely when I received a serious injury during one of the trainings. Every sportsman gets an injury throughout his life, and I understand that this is normal; however, this case was far more complicated. The thing is that I was training hard and getting ready for the final championship game. This game was too important for me and the whole Nashua High School South. I was playing forward, and everyone anchored many hopes on me, especially our trainer. Unfortunately, my injury was too serious, and I could not play against Manchester Central High School. This fact made me feel very depressed. At that period of my life, I felt as if I was a bird with cut wings.
Luckily, my family and friends helped me a lot at that time, and their support was crucial for me. My father saw that I was depressed as it was my dream to win the final match, and he knew that I was a rather capable sportsman. I will always recollect that numerous discussions and conversations we had at that time. My father told me not to give up despite anything happens in my life. Moreover, my father saw that I was at a complete loss at that time and he helped me to cope with all that stress. I was so depressed that I did not want to continue my study and I had no desire to do anything. However, my father taught me several crucial critical thinking strategies that can help one cope with all the problems and difficulties in life, and I am really thankful for this.
Thinking Independently
One of these critical thinking strategies he taught me is thinking independently. People are often influenced by somebody else’s point of view and personal attitude. Various aspects and life circumstances can influence the process of our decision making. That is why, it is really essential to think independently. It is essential not to accept fully the thoughts of other people. It is recommended to manage to figure out certain things on your own. Independent critical thinkers never accept all the information. It is essential to understand the information, and only then, you can decide whether to accept it or not. Personal impression and attitude is the main goal that should be definitely achieved according to this critical thinking strategy. There should not be any division on true or false. Every decision should be made up concerning your personal beliefs and ideas. And this was very helpful for me as, for some time, I did not want to return to school as I knew that my trainer and my friends were really disappointed. Some people even told me that it was my fault that the team lost that day.
Understanding Egocentricity
One more critical thinking strategy is developing insight into egocentricity. This strategy pays much attention to the difference between reality and one’s own fantasies. It is important to consider various possible variants and try not to be stubborn. Only in case a person is many-sided, he/she is able to accept and compare various variants and opportunities. In order to find the proper and the most objective decision, it is essential to analyze a wide range of different factors and aspects. Egocentricity is considered to be an opposite side of the critical thinking. And this helped me too, as I understood that everything happens because of some reason, and I suppose that one of the reasons I got such an injury was that I was too obsessed with my achievements in sport and devoted less time to more important things and my family.
Controlling Emotions and Decision Making
Besides, in order to cope with problems, it is necessary to understand the role of emotions in your decision making. During our life, we have to make numerous decisions, and it is quite understandable that, sometimes, we are at least somehow but influenced by our emotions. Being more or less logical when you are making choice is quite natural. However, it is essential to understand that every choice and every decision leads to certain consequences. That is why, in case you do not want to have some unexpected and undesired results, try to control your emotions and to consider all the aspects before making a final decision.
As it is known, decision making is a certain cognitive process that contains some choice between certain things. The preferences may be quite various, and, sometimes, the process of decision making can be influenced by various factors. That is why, every decision has two sides, concerning our mind and our feelings and emotions. Logical approach to making decisions includes only rational methods and certain mathematical tools. Every decision guided by logic usually excludes any possible influence of emotions.
As a conclusion, I can say that all the memories of my childhood are extremely precious for me, and though some of them were quite emotional and negative from the first sight. But now, they serve as great sources of joy as I recall them. Now I understand that my soccer injury and all the worries and experience related with it surely helped guide and shape me and provided me with a great amount of necessary encouragement and strength along my further path in life. I am really happy that I had such an experience in my life that developed my strong will and character. I am also thankful to my family for their support and belief in me. My parents helped me develop critical thinking that is certainly essential, and they also taught me how to cope with stress and overcome all the difficulties that appear on my way. Critical thinking and problem solving are the most required skills for every person. This is a certain ability to judge and to decide what to do and what to believe. A person is usually able to think critically only in case he or she obtains at least some knowledge in this sphere and certain experience. Critical thinking helps to take up all the events and all the problems that appear in our life. And I understand that it is necessary to develop these skills and qualities in order to become successful and reach all your goals. Now, I try to devote enough time to self-analysis and try to find benefits in all my experiences, not only from my childhood. I was taught by my parents that it is essential to work hard, and nothing in life comes for granted – you have to deserve it. And I was also taught that you should not give up if something goes wrong. You should accept it as a certain lesson, understand its meaning and reason, and then, make proper conclusions and keep on working hard in order to succeed. All these rules perfectly work in my life till nowadays, concerning both financial and sporting perspectives.