When Common Sense Isn't so Common

Have you ever heard the line, "Common sense isn't so common"?

I bet you could have a conversation for hours, if not days from people who are amazed at the lack of "common sense" out there in the world. There is always a story about someone doing something which lacks complete common sense, and is utterly baffling to some as to why not every one has this "common sense." I'm sure that there are a million reasons and expectations that people have, yet it never seems to change.

I do a lot of people watching whenever I go anywhere because I find human behaviour fascinating. Yet with all the education I have, or for the amount of travelling I have done in the world, or for the thousands of hours I have spent interviewing people, I have come to the conclusion that people don't lack common sense. They really don't...

What they do lack is the one common trait which appears like they don't have common sense, and it is always there when common sense appears not to be. Want to know what I think it is?

People aren't aware in the moment.

Whenever I am in "the zone" I have really good clarity. I see things better, they occur a step before they actually happen. Most of the time, this happens when my mind is focused and fixated on the task at hand, and it is my primary concern. I have better reaction or adaptation time without pause or delay and it is because my mind is free from stress, outcome, or dis-empowering thoughts.

However, when my mind is cloudy, or I am unaware because I am stressed, over-thinking, numb, or the thoughts in my head are spinning around like a hamster wheel, I am completely lacking in common sense because I am not thinking clearly. Most people who live their lives in a haze simply aren't present to the world they live in, and they miss most everything in front of them as opportunity or danger because their mind is elsewhere. They are so fixated on their cluttered up mind, that they aren't paying attention to what is in front of them in the moment. I seem to make the most amount of poor decisions and get the worst results when I am in this state.

This results in poor decisions, indecisiveness, delay, missed opportunity, injury, a half-assed effort or job, and its always undeniable.

Yet why can we have days where we are caught in the zone and other days where we can't seem to do anything right? The answer always lies in your mindset of how that situation is occurring for you. It's just about quieting the hamster wheel in your head and choosing to be present in the moment and then actually doing it.

Easier said than done, I know. Yet, it takes a lot of practice to correct living a life of being so unpresent. -And we really do live lives of being unpresent.

So next time you see someone that lacks common sense, have a look to see if they are clueless to their environment or what's going on in their world at that time. And of course, when I say "Someone", I really mean you and me...