How can I develop my analytical skills? What is analytical thought?

[hellowahab]

Analytical thought is breaking down the pieces of something before reaching a conclusion, and not always the conclusion you expected to reach. To be truly analytical you need to think about all things involved in a situation, take buying something for instance. You want to buy a TV. You analyze the TV itself, is it a good brand, is it a current technology, how does it compare to other current technologies (plasma vs LCD for instance) how is the resolution. Then you analyze if you have need for it, do you have a place to put it, is it really important? and you analyze the financial impact, do you have cash for it, are you using credit, how long will it take to pay it off, things of that nature. So you look at all angles of the same situation. To be analytical you have to weigh out your options, think about them before you act, and not act on first impulse about much of anything.
Analytical thought is just your ability to analyze situations and come up with ideas.