Common Sense is not so Common
When I think about this saying, “Common Sense,” I am
reminded of all the times I have heard this saying in my life and even the
times that I have used it. Picture an
older man speaking to a younger, reprimanding him for not thinking about his last
task. He says to the younger man “what is wrong with you? This is common sense,” as he shakes his head
in disappointment. This is not an uncommon
mindset and statement in any area of life.
I am sure you have had this statement directed at you at one time or
another. Sometimes our reference of “common senses” seems so common to the
person using the statement, however the reality is it is not always what it
seems. For the person on the other end
it may not be common at all and to the person we are working with or talking to
it could totally be like speaking in tongues.
An example comes straight out of the headlines where a
jungle worker in some far off land was on his lunch break and fell asleep and never
work up. They found his remains in the
belly of a 25 foot boa constrictor. You
would think common sense would dictate because of the danger of wild animals
you don’t take a nap on the log of a downed tree. But for
this man he obviously didn’t realize this was a possibility or forget that it
was not a wise nap place. I have seen
the pictures of this man who was eaten it wasn’t pretty. So in this case “Common Sense,” it wasn’t so
common after all. When speaking with
someone about something they have no reference to is something that goes on
quite often nowadays. For example you may be speaking about how to
defend yourself, or play an instrument or run a business etc,. I deal with this
all the time, when coaching martial art school owners. I find that the things
that are easy and natural to me, are many times not even thought of. What I would consider common sense is
not. After 25 years of experience this
is second nature to me, but to the newbie it is not even in their frame of
reference. Common sense is actually a highly
trained skill and without the correct training a person/business owner or
musician will fail terribly. So what is
common sense?
While consulting with a myriad of different people, I have
found they all feel similarly. Over 4
decades of being a martial art teachers, I have found the same thing as
well. I believe is the basic core
fundamental principles of what I call life skills. However in the 21st century it
seems that many of the things necessary to make a person well rounded and able
to function under almost any situations is now falling on deaf ears like a
brand new discovery. We don’t have to
learn how to start a fire, from two sticks, or hunt and forage for food. None
of that is necessary in the world we live.
At times what I think to be basic necessity is not something of interest
for other people. So my approach when I
consult all the time, no matter who I am dealing with is to treat everyone as
if they were starting from scratch. My theory
is – if one simple lesson is lost or missed, whether it is the most basic it
can have a long term effects on the growth of that individual. When I teach
martial arts I teach sword. I have had
people say to me, no one is out there attacking you with a sword. The majority
of attacks don’t happen with a sword, but machete and knife attacks are
becoming more and more prevalent in the world we live. So practicing defense against a sword, is not
a bad skill to learn.
So what is common sense in life? I would have to say with total confidence the
answer is nothing! What is basic to one person
may not be to another. A boy growing up on a farm in the Midwest has common
sense knowledge that is quite different then the city boy or child of a
millionaire. My approach is a no
nonsense, experience based lesson program.
That is the way I teach my students, friends, people I love and also in
the consulting industry with my clients the basics on up to advanced training.
I learned from personal experience, what works and what doesn’t, I share what I
am using and what I have failed at with those that I am teaching. I am not afraid to say, I tried this and it
didn’t work. I am also not embarrassed to speak of my mistakes because they are
the best lessons in life. I remember
being very disappointed with Tony Robbins when he got divorced. I thought to
myself, I listen to this man, I believe in him. I have used his philosophies in
my relationship. If he can’t have a
successful marriage, then how can I listen to him about marriage? When I came to reality I realized, you only learn
from people’s experiences good and bad.
Mistakes are equally beneficial as successes. This is why I share openly
and honestly with everyone.
I believe in following an owner’s manual or script of
some sort, although I have to admit many times I assembled many items without
using a step by step guide and have found a few extra bolts, when I was
finished. Initially it didn’t matter,
but in the long run what ever was left out came back to haunt me, the strength
or the structure was weakened. Your life
is no different a personal owner’s manual so to speak. Make not of your experiences because they
will be your blue print for success.
Even though things may differ slightly from situation to situation, even
culturally, but all in all, concepts are adaptable. A business owner has to school himself in the
concept of common sense, a school age child or teen, as well as a parent too. If
you learn one thing from this article – is “common sense, is not so common.”
It is my goal to continually create common sense action
principles for a variety of things that will help the world arming people with
the tools to live their lives to the fullest.
Five
Core fundamental Protocols of common sense and life.
A
set of formal rules describing how to
1) Learn as much as you can about the topic at hand. Don’t
do it on the surface, dig in deep and actually learn as much as you can.
2) Embrace lessons as painful or uncomfortable as they
are.
3) Procedures Protocol’s – develop a system to process
the lesson, what and how does your mind work best, find that out and then use
that over and over.
4) Core Functions – the 9 levels of competency – I will
release this in future articles.
5) Trust others and allow yourself to be the student.
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