Adulting Part Five: Common Sense Isn’t Common
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein
Failure and hurt are life’s best teachers.
Do you want to understand what I am talking about? How many times have you actually failed at something and then conquered it? What did you learn? Did you take those lessons into other areas of your life? If yes, then you’re moving towards critical thinking and developing common sense.
Common sense fills you up more than anything else.
It feeds your character.
Maybe you can understand what common sense is by reading its obituary (notice of a death):
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know my Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I’m a Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing. Author unknown
Common sense happens when hard-learned responses become rote (memorizing process using routine or repetition, often without full attention or comprehension).
If you’re in a situation where you immediately panic because you don’t know what the response should be, instead of avoiding it or running away from it, pick an active response and remember the outcome. If it turns out to be the appropriate response, good, add it to your database (an organized collection of structured information) for the next time it happens. If you hit a similar situation again in the future, try that response again. If it works great, if not, ask yourself why it didn’t work.
Do you want to develop common sense?
Try doing something you’ve never done before, make sure it’s something you’re going to fail at not once but several times. But see it through and then analyze how you did with the task. Store the successes and failures and apply the next time or in another situation.
If you want a definition of common sense, let’s look at what lacking common sense means: you continue to believe or do something when there are previous experiences to suggest you would be better off thinking or acting differently.
For example, you run out the door on three different occasions when it is pouring rain and you get wet and then you get sick each of the three times. Don’t you think sometime between the third and fourth rainstorm incident, you’d purchase or locate an umbrella and check the weather before leaving without an umbrella? Someone with common sense would. Someone without common sense would run out the door a fourth time, get wet and then get sick.
There is an author Texas Bix Bender, who dispenses some wonderful practical advice in a way everyone can understand. It illustrates perfectly, common sense learned. I used to print this particular collection on pretty paper and give it to graduating homeschool high school students I knew; I always highlighted my personal favorite:
A Cowboy’s Guide to Life
Never squat with your spurs on.
Don't interfere with something that isn't bothering you.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
The easiest way to eat crow is while it is still warm. The colder it gets, the harder it is to swallow.
If you find yourself standing in a hole, stop digging.
If something doesn't seem worth the effort - it probably isn't.
It doesn't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.
The biggest trouble-maker you will ever have to deal with watches you shave your face in the mirror every morning.
Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.
When you start to think you are important - try ordering someone else's dog around.
Never worry about biting off more than you can chew, your mouth is bigger than you think.
Always drink upstream of the herd.
Telling someone to get lost and making them do it are two entirely different propositions.
When you ride ahead of the herd, look back every now and then to make sure it is still with you.
Good judgment comes from the experiences gained when exercising bad judgment.
When you give lessons in meanness to people or animals, don't be surprised if they learn them.
When you start to throw your weight around, be prepared to have it thrown by someone else.
Letting the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than putting it back in.
The fastest way to double your money is to fold it up and put it back in your pocket.
Never miss an opportunity to shut up.
How many times do you think that cowboy squatted with his spurs on?
Do you know what spurs are?
Spurs are a piece of metal, shaped like a star, with maybe ten sharp points that are attached to the heels of cowboy boots for the purpose of directing a horse.
BOOKS
Don’t Squat With Your Spurs On: A Cowboy’s Guide to Life Texas Bix Bender.
ADULTING SERIES
Adulting Part One: Being Independent
Adulting Part Two: Government & Taxes
Adulting Part Three: Tights Are Not Pants
Adulting Part Four: The Man You Want