LET’S SPEAK FRANKLY: COMMON SENSE.
Common sense is defined as the ability to behave in a sensible way and make practical decisions. Common sense refers to good judgment; sound practical judgment derived from experience rather than study. Common sense as a word which literally means something that is readily available seems to contradict “common sense” which is ironically “scarce” in our daily interactions with people.
We live in an era of civilization that has almost replaced our sense of humanity and reasoning. We act or speak before realizing the implication of what we did or said. The world on its part keeps progressing whether or not we do too. It is in the light of this fact that humanity needs to urgently address personal issues bothering our existence and living.
A walk down the street, market places, offices etc reveals statements like “don’t you have common sense?, use your head, common sense should have told you this is so or so”. It almost seems like our efficiency as professionals or individuals hinges on the proper application of common sense.
You train as doctor and what makes you a preferable source to the rest of your colleagues is your application of common sense. As a soldier, engineer, lawyer, architect, accountant, etc; how well you progress or make a name for yourself is solely on how sound your judgment on a daily basis is. It is one thing you teach yourself over time (experience).
Think about the choices you have make overtime; how sound have they been? in your profession or course of study, do you approach it with any touch of common sense? How about your relationship with your family, friends, and strangers? Truth is that there are no laid down rules on how best to effectively apply common sense to your life but just as you won’t have to call a weather man before knowing where the wind is blowing or whether or not the clouds are forming to rain, such discretion can be applied to even complex aspects of your life.
Carefully read and reflect on the suggestions below on how to develop common sense as it best suits your life:
 Familiarize yourself with the purpose and meaning of common sense. According to Merriam Webster, common sense is about exercising "sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts". This definition suggests that common sense depends on not over-complicating the situation (simple), applying experience and general knowledge to the situation (sound and prudent judgment), and implicit in this is self-trust that your considered experience is valid for future situations. Karl Albrecht calls common sense practical intelligence. He defines it as "the mental ability to cope with the challenges and opportunities of life". He explains that common sense is situational, dependent on context, and that your common sense in one aspect of your life might be excellent while failing abysmally in another aspect of your life. As to the purpose of common sense, it is basically thinking that prevents you from making irrational mistakes or decisions, a thinking approach that may open your eyes to the possibility that insisting on being right prevents you from seeing the bigger picture.

 Understand the ease with which the human mind is convinced that an idea is right contrary to indicators clearly demonstrating otherwise. We're human; we're fallible. And our brains work in certain ways as a means of providing shortcuts to ensure survival in a world where being chased by predators could end your life. In a modern world where caves and saber toothed tigers are no longer a constant companion, some of that reactive, split second judging can land us in hot water as we react instead of reflecting, assume instead of teasing apart the realities, and follow habit instead of challenging its continued utility.
 Divorce yourself from reality. This isn't an invitation to insanity. This is a request to consider that your sense of reality isn't real. What you see is what you've programmed your brain to see. And once you start down the slippery slope of self-confirmation that reality is only ever what you see it as, you're open to the possibilities of bigotry, selfishness, intolerance, and prejudice because you'll constantly seek to make everyone and everything else conform to your standard of reality, and your standard of "what's right". By divorcing yourself from this one-sided reality, and learning as much as you can about how other people perceive the world and our place in it, you begin to make room for common sense to grow because your sense is built on "common" experiences, not just your own.

 Acquaint yourself with your reflective mind. Reflective intelligence is about being able to stand back and view the bigger picture so that you realistically appraise the situation or environment directly around you rather than forcing yourself to conform to its suitability or practicing wishful thinking. After an accurate appraisal of the situation, a reflective mindset enables you to set goals that are realistic given the parameters you're working within, and to take sensible actions toward meeting those goals. In other words, just because other people do or use something effectively isn't a sign that it will suit you too; you need to put your own reflective mind to work on each situation to decide whether it will be a fit for you, your lifestyle, and those around you directly impacted by your decisions.

 Reacquaint yourself with your rapid cognition. The previous step has just suggested that you need to reflect more before you take decisions or act. But the obvious flipside to reflection is the reality that some things need very fast thinking and rapid decisions that will produce sound results. Rapid cognition is the type of thinking that tells you that you're not going to connect with a person the moment that you meet them, or that a poorly placed ladder is going to fall sooner rather than later and needs to be shifted pronto, or that you need to quickly jump out of the way of an out-of-control car now. How do you marry rapid cognition to reflective thinking under the rubric of "common sense"? It's simple - spend your reflecting time wisely so that you will react wisely when quick thinking is required. Common sense builds on your reflection over past experiences, enabling you to refine your understanding of the world and how it works time and time again.
 Learn things that are basic common sense. There are things that every human being should know how to do and not leave to another person, things that go to the heart of personal survival, self-knowledge, and long-term health and safety. In this way, you can learn common sense through practical knowledge and application, informing you accurately when times are harder or when you must react quickly. For instance knowing how to cook, earn morning, respect people and society, how to plan your life financially, how to analyze situations, how to fix basic items and devices, how to plan in advance, how to be resourceful, etc.
 Put new commonsense thinking habits into place. Take the philosophy, the psychology, and the popular theories behind how we think and add this understanding to the active ways in which you can use your common sense. Always try think outside the box to get some great ideas for restoring your sense of relying on your own innovative thinking processes.
 Practice mental flexibility. This is the ability to stay open-minded and to listen to other people's notions and ideas, even if they scare you or derail your own thinking. It does you good to practice mental elasticity and to stretch yourself beyond the things you think you know already.
If you put in the constant act of thinking things through carefully for yourself as well as learning all that you can about the world and other's thoughts about the world, you're well placed. You don't have to be highly educated; you do have to be open-minded and curious. And realize that this is a process, not a destination. You will have to make the mental effort throughout your life as to which messages you absorb and which people you allow to influence your thinking. Even this article is but one source of guidance on common sense – analyze it, critique its applicability to your own circumstances, and pick, discard, or adopt those things that suit you or don't fit with you. After all, doing so just makes plain Common Sense.
AKPEM TERSE SHADRACH (ATS). 08066459317.