Growing up I was a big question asker and critical thinker, being praised for it by teachers and spending almost all my time it felt like contemplating things in search of answers. More recently I haven't been using those skills as much and have been not been thinking as long, hard, deeply, or abstractly about things as I once did.
From my experience,, in terms of SA and stuff, critical thinking skills can help a lot in identifying problems, considering possible solutions, and analyzing them once you put them into action. I don't think it's inherently good or bad, but if a person is more negative or cynical critical thinking will give them the ability to see more completely all the negative mentalities they may hold. It can also help you see the potential of the good that life can bring and the improvement you can make. During a time in my life when I made the most improvement lot's of deep thinking about particular things about myself was done, I'd write journals and just try to sort everything out logically. I feel critical thinking, at least for me, allowed for change.
And from the other side, when I'm not thinking as much about things I find things stay more the same. Life just sort of goes by, living each day without thinking much about what I can do with it. I mean I enjoy my days, but I don't feel like I am experiencing it to the fullest which deeper understanding and thinking would allow. A lot of good things in life come over time, and in order to realize what they are and put them into action, in which critical thinking can go a long way