Calendar Books by Allen James - Daily Reading - Continued from Thursday

Today we complete our posting regarding the necessity of utilizing our common sense in our travels toward personal success.  

Learn things which are basic common sense. There are things every human being should know how to do and not leave to another person, things which go to the heart of personal survival, self-knowledge, and long-term health and safety. In this way, we can learn common sense through practical knowledge and application, informing accurately when times are more difficult or when we must react quickly. Some of the common sense basics every human should know include:

• Knowing how to cook and how the food gets to our table. For every person who proudly proclaims he or she does not know how to cook, there is a person easily persuaded by others any food is suitable for them, no matter how unhealthy or how unethically or unproductively sourced. It's no badge of honor to not know how to cook for ourselves; it's often a sign of laziness or a rebellion against supposed domesticity. Knowing how to cook is basic common sense because it will ensure our healthy survival under any conditions. And, no matter how infrequently we may use this skill, it's enjoyable and rewarding.
• Knowing how to grow our own food. Being able to grow our own food is an assurance of self-survival. Learn the skill if not already and instill it in our kids.
• Knowing about nutrition. If cooking for ourselves, and perhaps growing our own food, we'll be more connected with our body's need for healthy nutrition. Eat healthily most of the time, in moderation, and with an eye to meeting all appropriate nutritional needs for our age, gender, height, and personal conditions.
• Knowing and respecting our surroundings. It's common sense to know what local conditions impact our lives, from weather to wildlife. Take the time to get to know local environments and respond to them appropriately, from adequately weatherproofing homes to removing invasive species from gardens.
• Knowing how to budget and not spend more than we're earning. It's common sense to only spend what we have. Sadly, many people manage to forget this in an orgy of frequent over-spending, behaving as if a bulging credit card debt came as a complete surprise to them. Over-spending is an irrational habit, as is hiding unopened bills at the back of a closet; reining in the spending with a budget and self-restraint is common sense in action. And make sure to get all important financial decisions and agreements in writing, from loans to sales; we can never be too careful when it comes to money.
• Knowing the limitations of our own body. This includes knowing which foods wreak havoc with our own bodies, which foods work for us, knowing how many hours of sleep we need, and knowing the type of exercise which benefits our body and metabolism best; read widely but work out for us individually what harms and heals our body, as we're the real expert on this topic. Moreover, we're no super hero - ignoring bodily injuries takes place at our own peril, such as continuing to carry heavy loads with an aching back, or refusing to acknowledge constant pains.
• Knowing how to analyze situations and think for ourselves. Instead of digesting the pulp media thrown at us every day, and ending up in a state of fear because every second news item is a crime or disaster, start thinking about the reality behind the news feed and start thinking about life and happenings with a healthy, open, and questioning mindset. Help free others from the fear media by teaching them how to recognize the tactics used.
• Knowing how to repair items. In a world heavily dependent on disposal of items rather than repairing them, we're adding to the Earth's burden. And, we're beholden to those who manufacture items with in-built obsolescence because we've lost the ability to tinker and fix things ourselves. Learning how to fix or mend clothes, appliances, household objects, car engines, and many other items important to our daily functioning, is not only liberating but is also an important way to exercise our common sense.
• Knowing how to plan in advance. So we're not doing things haphazardly, more expensively, or without an idea of the consequences, learn to plan ahead. Forward thinking is always a sign of good common sense, as is being able to review the consequences of different outcomes.
• Knowing how to be resourceful. Resourcefulness is the art of "making do"; it's about taking small things and making them go a long way with a little imagination and elbow grease. It's about being able to thrive under difficult conditions and still prosper and not feel deprived. Resourcefulness is a key part of using common sense, and again, it's a skill liberating us from consuming to live.
• Knowing how to connect with community. It's common sense to be a part of our community; unfortunately many people prefer to bunker down and remain aloof or unhindered by the others around them. Connecting with others in our community is part of being human, of relating, and of opening ourselves up to sharing and generosity.
• Knowing how to keep safe. Whether in public or at home, safety is a matter of common sense. Pushing saucepan handles away from the walk way of others on the stove, looking both ways when crossing the street, walking with a friend or group in dark areas of the city at night instead of being alone, etc. All of these are common sense safety actions which can be planned for and put into action before anything harmful happens; and doing so will often avert problems altogether. Think prevention, not disaster.

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 we can use our common sense.

• 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.
• Use affirmative thinking. This is the way of perceiving yourself and others in a positive manner, always looking to see the best in others and yourself, and making constant conscious decisions about who or what you will allow yourself to be influenced by, and what you will consider worthy of devoting your thinking time to. This isn't as simplistic as chanting affirmations or thinking happy thoughts; the mental work required to maintain an affirmative, conscious mindset is hard but rewarding.
• Rely on semantic sanity. This is about using language to support clear thinking freed from dogma.
• Value ideas. This concept leads you to accepting new ideas rather than immediately knocking them on the head as unfamiliar, insane, or undoable. How do you know they don't match your viewpoint until you've worked through them? Equally, valuing ideas encapsulates the need to reflect often, for without adequate time for reflection, you'll fail to come up with your own ideas.If you put in the constant hard yards of thinking things through carefully for yourself as well as learning all that you can about the world and others 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 cherry pick, discard, or adopt those things that suit you or don't fit with you. After all, doing so just makes plain common sense. 

• Manipulative and controlling strategies do not equate to common sense. These are signs of people who wish to change reality and cause other people to fit in with their notions of reality. You can't change this type of person, so unless you're paid to hear their woes, use your common sense and keep a good distance from them.
• Learn all you can of any parts of the universe that interest you before you die. This will allow you to cultivate common sense within a context. "Common sense" without any real knowledge is not even as good for humans as animal instinct. Raccoons have tons of such "common sense" but still try to stare down oncoming cars.
• Common sense dictates that all important agreements, such as financial and marriage agreements, be in writing. Trust not to the vagaries of time and faulty memories.
• Ancient wisdom can be helpful but it can also hinder. It all depends on the context of when the "wisdom" was developed and whether it stands the test of time or not.
• Try to remain happy even if things go wrong because whatever happens, happens for good!
• Generalizations are not common sense. They are generalizations based on someone's view of things as they stood at the time the generalization was made. Always question a generalization. The excuse "because it's always been done like this" is a generalization in sheep's clothing. Probe any deeper and you'll find that the speaker cannot pinpoint the exact moment that the generalization became the norm and one from which nobody can ever deviate.
• Listen to the world and people around you before speaking - particularly if you have something to say that might be considered judgmental. If you can't add something meaningful, don't say anything. This may not immediately increase or cultivate your actual common sense, but will give others the distinct impression that you do, indeed, possess common sense.
• Common sense is natural, but things can always go wrong; just don't beat yourself up about the past too much. Some things are inevitable.
• Ask people why they presume something to be so. Often we are so used to just nodding our head and swallowing the cliches as culturally ordained that we forget it's OK to ask someone why they have stated something to be so. For example, if your friend tells you that it's not safe to go outside at night because strangers exhibit only 1 percent good motives and everyone's a robber, ask them why they think this. If they can only cite generalizations, ask them for facts and examples. Even with the facts and examples, ask them why this is a problem where you live, where you're going, when you're in a group, when you're alone, when you're escorted, etc. Eventually you should get to the nub of the issue being derived from series of stories through the media. Then ask your friend, is it better to be scared safe or to be prepared safe? There will always be risks in life, even staying at home can bring on death and injury. What counts is preparing for the worst in a sane and sensible fashion (for example, taking self defense classes, knowing where not to walk in the dark, only ever going out at night with others, catching a taxi when drunk, etc.) rather than restricting one's life from fear.
• Avoid speaking or writing about the unimportant things that primarily make up our daily lives and only weigh in on those things that are of genuine import. You will not only be perceived as having common sense, you will actually be using it.

Using good sense attributes to leading a more positive, personally successful life.

Keep looking up.  : )  AJ