Common sense isn't always easy

Just because it's common sense it doesn't mean it is easy. Some things take new thinking, new practices, time and effort - even when the concept is simple, common sense. Getting control of our spending. Common sense says we will be happier living within our means. No debt hanging over us, threatening to topple a house of (credit) cards. Yet tending to "needs" without succumbing to "wants" is not that easy. In fact it seems easier to rationalize a want into a need than to deprive ourselves that immediate pleasure. For another example, take dealing with difficult people. Common sense says we have a problem and need a solution. But as long as the problem is "them", there is no need to confront our own contribution to the problem. To get to a solution we first have to see the problem in ourselves on the way to mastering emotions which in turn leads to greater effectiveness in dealing with the real issues. Sound easy? Try it!

How do athletes, musicians, actually anyone whose work we admire, make it look so easy, so effortless? Hard work. Practice. If Malcolm Gladwell is to believed (and who says he is not) it's 10,000 repetitions to achieve mastery.

So it is with common sense. If you want to use it you have to practice, practice, practice.

Guiding Principal: Exercise your intellectual curiosity.

Whoever said "There is no such thing as a stupid question... just stupid people", intimidated us. We are afraid to ask questions. Shouldn't we already know the answer? Won't we look stupid? or at least seriously uninformed? So we prefer to wallow in a swamp of ignorance than risk sounding foolish. We are all ignorant of something. It is a condition easily cured by asking questions.

If you don't know who to ask there is always the internet or the local public library. Librarians love to answer questions or help you find the answer. If you are curious about something, anything - ask. Yes, it takes time, energy, and mental effort. Ant the last - mental effort - is the most difficult. But, like physical effort, the more you do it, the easier it becomes and the benefits are many.

Common Sense: If It Was More People Would Have It

Every day I seem to witness more acts that fly in the face of what, when I was growing up, was called "just good old common sense". It was expected that, by instruction or experience, we would learn to apply common sense in our daily lives. It was not that expertise was not needed, law and medicine come to mind (more on that later), but for most of life's transactions we could apply our native intelligence and ability to deal with them effectively. On February 14, 1776, Thomas Paine made his case for the Colonies' freedom by appealing to his fellow citizens' Common Sense. Over 200 years later Daniel de Souza decries The Death of Common Sense. What happened? Has life become so complicated we are afraid to act without the guidance of an "expert"? Have we become so self-actualized (or so selfish) there is no "common" sense anymore, only our individual sense.

This is not intended to be a psychological or sociological exploration. It is simply a call (a cry, perhaps) for a return of common sense. I see people with that "deer in the headlights" look when confronted with the simplest of choices: paper or plastic? regular or diet? 2% or skim? Anything more complicated and they are either frozen in indecision or immediately plagued with buyer's remorse. Have even the most modest of choices we are asked to make become so complicated that we can't move without consulting an expert? How many experts do we need? And how are we to choose from among the many competing experts views? Don't these experts have a vested interest in our confusion? Wouldn't they be out of work if we could decide for ourselves?

Can "common sense" really guide us in our personal lives? relationships? work? YES. The regular exercise and application of common sense can make the daily grind more tolerable, even enjoyable. We can take greater control over what we do and respond more effectively to what is done to us.

Common Sense is as much about attitude as it is intellect. What follows will be ruminations, observations, and random thoughts on the subject of common sense and how the world might be a better place if we experienced more of it.

Stay tuned. Let me know what you think.