One of the characteristics of an effective critical thinker is his or her ability to develop strategies for coping with adversity rather than giving up or becoming embittered. Think of a hardship—personal, academic, or financial—that you are facing. Develop a strategy for coping with or overcoming the hardship by integrating the following components in your 4 to 5-page reflective essay.
• Explain how a Stage 1* approach in Cognitive Development applies here and identify its limitations.
• Identify at least 3 characteristics of a good critical thinker to help you overcome your hardship.
• Identify at least 3 of the more common barriers that most apply to you and how to best overcome them.
• Discuss the role of emotion in your approach to your hardship, identifying both negative and positive emotions and their impact on your strategy.
• Discuss whether or not faith or spirituality plays any role in your strategy and how its presence, or lack of it, is key to your success.
