Have you ever said to yourself, "Am I the only one here that has any Common Sense?" I find myself saying that more and more as I get older.

Before I continue, let me get this out of the way. I do not consider myself the brightest bulb in the pack, nor do I fancy myself as any form of a writer. So please bear with me as I use incorrect punctuation, improper tense and possibly confuse you with my rambling style.

Not being the most educated man I know, (I only finished some college), I find it easy to convince myself that there should be more people around that have a modicum of what I call Common Sense. Unfortunately, every direction I turn, I seem confronted with the opposite.

Perhaps my definition of Common Sense is incorrect. I see it as the logical procession one takes while encountering any type of obstacle, problem or disagreement -the weighing of the virtues within the outcome of any step taken. The majority involved with any given situation should take precedence over the one as long as there is logic used in the decision. Certainly there are exceptions to this, but I am painting with a broad stroke.

Priding myself with the overt desire to see things from all sides before making a decision, I simply can't grasp the thought processes of any individual that can't or won't see outside his or her own narrow view. Certainly, I would be happy to be proved wrong in any encounter about a proposal I disagree with, if it can be explained to me to be the good of the majority. This hardly ever happens! People seem to go out of their way to be governed by their own emotional response. Even that wouldn't be so bad, if at some point, reasoning came into play and a semblance of taking a moment to rethink, was what I saw cross their eyes. Many is the time I have seen time, money and energy thrown out the window for a cause that would be better suited shelved or totally revamped in order to get the desired outcome. The people in charge simply can't think 'outside of the bun'.

Maybe it is the environment I choose, the type of work or even the type of people that gravitate toward my line of work. I wont name it here, because I also believe that even if that is the case, I cant be the only one that thinks it - meaning it happens in all walks of life and all professions - so we will leave it at that. Decision makers are everywhere and they are all governed by something. Money? Power? Love? Could be any number of things - just why do I have to constantly fight for what is logically the correct choice with someone that has to fight emotionally for a choice that only serves him or a small group? I certainly am not stoic, (have been accused of it though :-) ) but I learned a long time ago that any decision needs to be weighed against the outcome and whether it is a business or personal decision, the outcome should be what you are shaping. Common Sense answers these questions for you every time.

You ever get a "gut feeling" about something? How often is it wrong? Mine- almost never. Those times it is? Emotion tipped the scale. What is it? Yeah, Common Sense. It is there, however much it may be buried. It isn't hard to use. But it certainly makes you unpopular with the suits. I am constantly wondering how the 'suits' became the 'suits' without using it.
Don't get me wrong, I will concede some decisions are better made on an emotional level...but even those end up the product of a common sense train of thought.

Simple right and wrong, Good vs. Evil - the needs of the many - you get what I mean.
So, what is my point? Not really sure I know. What I do know is, people need more common sense in their lives. It needs to be taught (somehow) to children as they grow. They need to learn the consequences of not using it. In a lot of ways, they need to come to fear not using it. The 'devil may care attitude' of some mothers these days is doing nothing to arrange their childrens lives towards success. I have a child, and I fear the influence of her particular atmosphere will not give her the tools she needs to make a decisive impact on her life and the world. I do all I can to give them to her, but there is only so much I can do 2 weekends a month. Thats another story... :-)

If I had a recipe for using Common Sense in a situation, I suppose this would be it.
Ask yourself questions.
Does the decision benefit you or all involved.
Will it adversely affect the outcome of a previous Common Sense decision.
Are you thinking with your head or your heart.
Does you gut accept your decision.
And after making your decision, do you feel comfortable that you wont have a nagging regret over it.

Simple questions in my opinion, but ones that are easy enough to take the time to use. Care to add your own to the list? Or perhaps argue in the case of the emotional response? Feel free...Im done. :-)