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The Components of CCCT

An overview of the four aspects of CCCT and what they achieve when used together.

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What is CQ Critical Thinking?

Simply put, it is a game-changing skill you can apply in every area of your life. We’ve all heard the phrase “Critical Thinking.” But what are you really doing when you choose to think critically? Quite a bit, as it turns out. In fact, not only are you being critical, but conscious and creative as well.

Conscious Creative Critical (CCC) Thinking is a general mental attitude that examines problems, situations, and experiences by creating and organizing principles that help you reason and make thoughtful choices. It allows you to recognize the underlying influences of your thoughts and behaviors while simultaneously enabling you to make sense of complex information.

Let’s take some time to learn what exactly CCC Thinking is and how to practice it.

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This content is taken from
BoxPlay online course,

How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills

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Conscious

Being aware of and responding to one’s surroundings.

An illustrated person sitting cross-legged amidst flowers and small trees, looking at a fish swimming above her head, with a peach-colored background.

Conscious Critical Thinking highlights the importance awareness plays in problem-solving.

Creative

Imaginative, constructive, resourceful and analytical approach to forming a strategy.

An illustrated head with plants and various geometric shapes emerging from the top, as well as a butterfly and two bees flying around the head, with a light green background.

In most situations, the term “creative” is just as — if not more — appropriate than the term ”critical” when applied to forming a strategy.

Critical

Using reasoning, being accountable for our own processing, and then analyzing and critiquing our solutions.

Thinking

The process of using one’s mind to consider or reason about something.

CQ: Conscious Creative Critical Thinking is a way of being

Have you ever used the phrase “I can’t hear myself think?” This is a challenge we may all face when it comes to Critical Thinking.

To think critically, you need to become aware of your thoughts and feelings. This awareness allows you to filter through what will help you solve a problem and what could otherwise be an unwanted distraction. Then, you can creatively think through the necessary steps to solve a problem (i.e. connect the relevant dots). Only then will you gain the ability to express clear and impactful solutions.

Modern life often requires us to do more than one task at a time, often quickly and efficiently. This makes it very hard to be fully aware of our thoughts.

Multitasking is considered a fundamental and desirable skill, but in reality it creates one of the thickest barriers to critical thinking. A study conducted by Stanford University measured participants’ cognitive functions during multitasking and showed how it negatively impacted their ability to discern between relevant and irrelevant information during critical thinking.

To sharpen our thinking skills, it’s essential to concentrate on something long enough to form an idea about it before moving on. This is only possible using our undivided attention.

How do you engage in CCC Thinking?

FOCUSED AWARENESS -> CONSCIOUS ACTIVE LISTENING -> CLARITY OF MESSAGE -> ACCOUNTABILITY & SELF-ASSESSMENT" against a green background.”>

The process is layered, however there is a methodology, and it starts with intention and focused awareness. From there, it moves into conscious active listening with empathy and clarity of message. Finally, it leads to accountability and self-assessment of bias. We call this the CQ Thinking Loop.

“All that is outside, also is inside.”
-CS Jung