Common Sense Is Not About Education. Street Wisdom Matters

It is true that education is very important, at least it can open a lot of doors for you, it can also increase your knowledge, and it can give you the necessary skills that you need to succeed in life. However, I have come to realise that being educated does not automatically equate to being wise. That someone has certificates does not also mean that they have common sense. I have seen people who do not have formal education taking wise steps and taking decisions that are worthwhile. This goes to prove that common sense is not a result of certificates.

_{Image from Pexels}

You have to understand that education and common sense are two entirely different things. Education may teach you about what is written in the books. But when situations come that would demand that you will apply practical wisdom, you will realise that you need more than just certificates. Just to let you know, common sense simply talks about the way to think in a reasonable way, understand situations well, recognise potential challenges, and make logical and sensible decisions. Simply put, it is knowing what to do and what you should not do, knowing when to do it and when you should not do it, then most importantly, knowing how to do it.

There are areas where your common sense can come into practical application. The first one is in the area of your finance. You do not need to have a doctorate degree in accountancy for you to know that you should not spend all your income on the things you do not even need. On the other hand, that you studied accountancy or economics is not a guarantee that you will be prudent with money. A few months ago, one of my friends who is a chartered accountant came to me to complain about a couple of things, but funny enough, almost all of them bordered on finances. He actually earns well, but he spends most of them on luxury and on things he does not need. Before the end of the month, he would be borrowing and waiting for the next salary. Common sense should have told him that he should make provisions for savings.

In addition to finances, you also need to apply common sense in your relationship and how you deal with people. I have seen people's relationships fail because of avoidable things that common sense would have solved. In the place where I grew up, there were two university professors who were married for years, but in the number of years they were married, they always had issues and even the whole street knew. There was a time that they had issue, and someone from down the street was who settled them. Funny enough, the guy did not go to school, but he settled two professors quarreling. They were educated but they obviously did not apply common sense to their marriage. Street wisdom and common sense will teach you to appreciate good people, follow peace with people, keep your word, be humble, and treat people fairly.

_{Image from Pexels}

You also need to apply a level of common sense when making decisions. Imagine getting a well-paid dream job, then one day, you arrive at the office angry from a previous provocative, then you transferred the anger and insult your boss. It may cost you your job and you will be back to square one. It is common sense that will tell you to pause and think for a while about the actions you want to take plus the effects and consequences they may have. Remember that you must not experience every problem before you learn, wise people can actually learn from the mistakes of others.

Most importantly, you have to apply common sense in your everyday life, it must not be once in a while. It is worthy to note that common sense appears even in the very little things we do on a daily basis. Some things that people see as complex might just be because they have not put street wisdom into it. You do not have to wait until special occasions before you apply common sense, it should be a lifestyle.

Thanks for reading