Page 160 - Keys to College Success

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THINKING ANALYTICALLY ABOUT MONEY

Analyzing potential purchases helps you decide whether the pros outweigh the cons. To practice, write down your
thoughts on three potential purchases and their consequences. Use this format: “If I buy [fill in the blank] for [$ amount],
I will be able to [whatever this purchase will allow you to do] but I won’t [whatever sacrifice you will have to make
because of the expenditure].
Here is an example to get you started:
If I buy the latest iPhone for $299, I will be able to access the Internet, take videos, and store music and photos,
but I won’t have money for my sociology books, and I won’t be able to buy coffee every morning.

time, seeking help from instructors and advisors, and believing in yourself—will keep
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you moving toward your goals. Learning from mistakes and failure is an especially
important part of practical thinking. As psychologist Barry Schwartz points out,
“Wisdom comes from experience, and not just any experience. You need permission
to be allowed to improvise, to try new things, occasionally to fail, and to learn from
your failures.” 36
The key to making practical knowledge work is to use what you discover, assuring
that you will not have to learn the same lessons over and over again. As Sternberg says,
“What matters most is not how much experience you have had but rather how much you
have profited from it—in other words, how well you apply what you have learned.” 37
See Key 5.10 for some questions you can ask in order to apply practical thinking to
your problems and decisions.

KEY 5.10 Ask questions like these to activate practical thinking.

• What worked well, or not so well, about my approach? My timing? My tone? My wording?
• What did others like or not like about what I did?
To learn from ask
experience • What did I learn from that experience, conversation, event?
• How would I change things if I had to do it over again?
• What do I know I would do again?

• What have I learned that would work here?
To apply what ask • What have I seen others do, or heard about from them, that would be helpful here?
you learn • What does this situation have in common with past situations I’ve been involved in?
• What has worked in similar situations in the past?

• How can I get motivated and remove limitations?
To boost your • How can I, in this situation, make the most of what I do well?
ability to take ask • If I fail, what can I learn from it?
action • What steps will get me to my goal, and what trade-offs are involved?
• How can I manage my time more effectively?

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