People Who Lack Common Sense Often Think These 11 Things Are Great Ideas
They have a tendency to not think things completely through.
Look Studio | Shutterstock Common sense is relatively objective — everyone believes they have it, but what it truly means and encompasses on a daily basis looks wildly different depending on the person, situation, and context, like a study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences argues. Oftentimes, our common sense beliefs are defined by other people, even if we don't acknowledge or verbalize those similarities often. What we do, say, act on, and prioritize in a "common sensical way" is influenced by what other people think and believe, just as much as what we do.
Even when it comes to situations like the workplace or personal routines, common sense plays a role in crafting people's decisions, critical thinking, conflict resolution, and values. For example, people with common sense may avoid things like speaking up in a meeting they're not a part of or calling out a physical trait in someone that they can't immediately change, while people who lack common sense often think these things are great ideas. It may not be inherently "right" or "wrong" to do either, but it's contextualized in the framework of expectations, social beliefs, and self-awareness.
People who lack common sense often think these 11 things are great ideas
1. Just 'winging' it
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Whether it's a job interview, a test for school, or even a first date, people who lack common sense often think "winging it" — doing things without any kind of preparation or practice — is a great idea. Of course, it often seems like it to someone who's only seeking comfort, rather than growth or challenge, because it allows them to suppress all the anxiety of an upcoming event or fears about a high-stakes situation.
Preparing and organizing before these kinds of events often reduces anxiety and fear in the long-term, but it takes a kind of self-discipline, work ethic, and internal emotional regulation to start, which people lacking common sense may generally struggle with in these scenarios.
2. Only reading the headlines
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Rather than investing in the critical thinking behaviors and deep-diving that people with common sense do when they read something that piques their interest online, people who generally lack it instead read only the headline. They may even bring these headlines into arguments or let them shape their beliefs without doing their due diligence of fact-checking and reading the entire article.
People who lack common sense think it's a great idea — often purely for their own comfort and convenience — to run with facts and opinions on the internet, largely because they spend a ton of time consuming it.
While people with common sense can acknowledge the consequences of too much screen time or social media consumption, like a study from Preventative Medicine Reports outlines, they use it as a misguided coping mechanism for their larger, more complex emotions that take intention to acknowledge.
3. 'YOLO'
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The "you only live once" mentality can be great for a lot of things — from living in the present moment to making the most of your life without the burdens of anxiety or insecurity. However, when it's used to justify irresponsible behaviors — from overspending, to investing in toxic relationships, and forming habits at the expense of personal well-being — it's nothing short of misguided.
People who lack common sense often think these things are great ideas and lean on the "YOLO" mentality to make excuses for their misbehavior. They may lack accountability in other parts of their lives — whether it's in the workplace or in relationships — and using this excuse is the perfect scapegoat for doing whatever they find most comfortable and enjoyable.
4. Following trends
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Many people without common sense — who often also lack internal security, self-awareness, and a relationship with their inner self — follow trends because they think it's the gateway to "fitting in" and being respected, envied, and loved by others.
Of course, it's not a trait specifically common to people without common sense — many people follow trends for a sense of community and belonging, even if they're harmful to personal health and well-being.
However, people without common sense often think following trends is the perfect way to solidify their identity, even if their rituals, routines, and spending habits have nothing to do with their own personal interests. They experiment and copy people because they don't know how to connect with themselves — they overlook alone time, opt for comfort, and forgo challenges of character at every passing turn.
5. Not wearing a helmet
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Experts and their research is completely unified on one thing: helmets protect people, whether you're on a motorcycle or a bicycle. However, people who lack common sense often think not wearing one is a great idea, more concerned about their aesthetic or appearance than their own safety.
Of course, they never think anything bad could happen to them. Many people who lack common sense also move about the world with this mentality — bad things happen to other people, but never to people like them. No matter how unappealing or uncomfortable it is to wear a helmet, people with common sense make it a priority — regardless of the circumstances — and those without do not.
6. Holding their emotions in
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According to a study from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, suppressing emotions — whether they're anger, sadness, resentment, or fear — encourages people to feel more internal turmoil, less closeness and intimacy with others, and lower social satisfaction. However, people with common sense to this regular — believing that "saving face" and tucking away the emotions they perceive to be "bad" inside is a great idea for protecting their social perceptions and relationships.
Of course, this "I'll just ignore it" mentality doesn't just have to do with emotions and feelings for people who lack common sense, they also tend to avoid other things for their own comfort — from conflict, to challenges at work, confrontation, toxic relationships, and a million other things.
Rather than leaning into the benefits of challenge and adversity, that spark growth and resilience, like a study from Frontiers in Psychiatry suggests, they turn toward instant gratification, comfort, convenience, and external validation, despite the long-term consequences those decisions cultivate.
7. Telling the truth without a filter
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Of course, honesty and trust is the key to building healthy relationships and even a personally secure sense of self, but telling the truth without a filter can put people in uncomfortable, unsafe, and unnecessarily difficult situations.
People who lack common sense often think it's a great idea — always telling the truth or speaking their mind without considering "time and place" — because they generally lack self-awareness and social intuition. They might tell someone that their hair looks bad, even if they can't fix it, or call out someone in a work meeting for being wrong, even if it's not the right environment to do so.
They may live by the principle of honesty, but it's not necessarily helping them to cultivate better interactions, relationships, or competency.
8. Following societal norms
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From cultivating "the perfect relationship" to adopting self-expression trends, people who lack common sense often think that following societal norms without question is a great idea. They'd prefer to be praised for following the rules and feel like they "fit in," even at the expense of their own self-awareness, expression, and authenticity, rather than pave their own — often uncomfortable and difficult — path forward.
For some people, adopting things like gender roles and following traditional career paths to success is worth it and feels authentic, but most people without common sense follow these things without considering what they want — only in the pursuit of external validation or praise.
9. Expressing overconfidence
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Many studies argue that people who are consistently overconfident tend to actually be less competent and accurate than their humble counterparts. While a person who lacks common sense may feel empowered to overcompensate and express overconfident behaviors in work or their personal lives — trying to win people over and seek validation — it's not always a great idea for actually growing and learning from others.
This overconfident attitude also encourages people to avoid asking for help, seeking out advice, and learning from people with more expertise and experience. They tend to close themselves off to opportunities for true growth, because they're too busy painting a misguided narrative about their competency and intelligence.
10. Staying busy 24/7
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Many people who lack common sense believe that staying busy all of the time is a great idea for maximizing productivity, when in reality, it's often a tool for them to misguidedly cope with stress, anxiety, or emotional turmoil.
Of course, that's from the truth, which is why people with common sense make an effort to prioritize their rest and breaks on a daily basis to be most productive. Like a study from the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health argues, people lacking common sense who consistently overwork themselves are only putting themselves at risk for chronic stress, physical illness, and psychological turmoil.
11. Doing things because they 'deserve it'
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Whether it's spending money, quitting a job, or investing in a misguidedly toxic relationship, many people who lack common sense overlook challenges, confrontation, and conflict by justifying their misbehavior with a belief like "I deserve it."
Especially from a financial perspective, a phrase like "well, I deserve it" is most common for someone who spends money they don't have and makes irresponsible financial decisions. Even if you deserve something — from money, to comfort, and a relationship — that doesn't mean that you should have it.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
