HOW TO CULTIVATE COMMON SENSE

Ok not everyone has much basic common sense. Sad but true. So if you happen to be a quart short in the CS department, here are a few simple basics- a little check list as it were, that I promise will be like having a personal trainer for Common Sense in your pocket. Yes…I suggest that you write these down and keep ‘em in your pocket. Or purse…whatever. It's good to have a cheat sheet when you're developing a new skill...once you read 'em a few times, you can just copy those first few words and you'll know exactly what to (and what NOT to) do to develop your skill.

 

People with common sense do effortlessly that which many others have to train and condition themselves to do with consistency…once mastered though, this short checklist will get you on the right road to your own salvation. Salvation from your own self-sabotage, of course.  Enjoy...

 

1. Slow Down. Do fewer things, but do them with greater attention- complete awareness if possible. This will cut way down on accidents, forgetfulness, mistakes, stress, and a host of other stupid stuff that makes you look (and feel) like you just can’t get it together.  And as a bonus, you will get more stuff done, and enjoy doing stuff more as a result. Yay you.
2. Stop eating crap and take the effing time to buy or make good healthy foods. Whatever you eat either feeds your health or serves the Dark Force. Really, stop pretending a power bar is a meal, get more sleep instead of using coffee, stop the sugar, never ever go to a fast food joint (it may be fast, but it ain’t food) , and give yourself the right to eat tasty, good food slowly and enjoy it. Period. If you pretend you can’t or just won’t do that, you’re asking for mood swings, irritability, sickness, sleep problems, rotten concentration…and probably rotten teeth, too. (none of this is good for your sex life BTW)
3. Get your ass outside to see the sky, walk under some trees and experience the elements…you know, sun, rain, wind…that stuff. We are made to be balanced and sustained by nature. Even though we long to do it, daydream about it, and itch to get outside, we somehow chain ourselves to the computer, then think we can make up for it at the gym. Well you can’t.  Studies clearly show (again, like we NEED studies to tell us what our biology already knows) that being out in nature has many health benefits including but not limited to : reduces stress, stabilizes blood sugar, helps regulate blood pressure, speeds healing, lifts mood and enhances creativity. Not to mention, you might meet a few actual people!
4. Make Meaningful Contact With Others. Really, people with good common sense don’t have to be reminded to do this…so if you suck at contact 101, here’s your chance to brush up on what it means and what it will do for you. ..This does not mean texting and emailing.  Meaningful Contact includes but is not limited to conversations in person or on the phone in which you: reveal how you really are, ask for something you want, tell people how you feel, express interest in  others, listen…I mean REALLY listen, let people know that you appreciate them, and/or love them… and/or get over yourself if you’re upset.
5. Listen to your gut. Really. People with Good Common Sense aren’t all about logic and analysis…what makes common sense so, well, Uncommon, is that it has a mind of its own. People with common sense have a way of noticing and being present that allows information from others, and the surroundings and their ‘spidey senses’ which are faster than the conscious mind -to inform their decisions and actions. Looks like luck…but it’s not. So listen to that little urge, push, pull…and follow it.  You’ll be glad you did.

 In conclusion, here’s a quote to inspire you to uncommon heights of good common sense:

I invite you to say this, or something like this: "I pledge to wake myself up, never hold back, have nothing to lose, go all the way, kiss the stormy sky, be the hero of my own story, ask for everything I need and give everything I have, take myself to the river when it's time to go to the river, and take myself to the mountaintop when it's time to go to the mountaintop." Rob Breszny

Amen! Awomen! Allelujah! Here's to Cultivating Common Sense!