A New Use for an Old Cliché

You will be in situations that involve an all or nothing, this or that option, but most of the time you will avoid unnecessary limitations in your decision making

When you hear that it is time to fish or cut bait, it is time to make a decision.  Of this, I am certain.  What I am not certain of is exactly what is being decided.  I think the choice is whether to act or take more time before you act.

This cliché is constantly misunderstood.  When you hear it, you are likely to think of making your bed the same way you thought of it when you were a kid; that it means you are restoring order to it by pulling up, tucking in, and generally arranging the sheets and covers after you have slept in it.  With this thought as your frame of reference, this cliché is non-sensical.  Why would anyone lie in the bed they just made?

This cliché is usually referenced when you observe the similarities between a child and their parent(s).

Love is a lot of things to a lot of people. It is often the central topic in poetry. It is interwoven into the plots of countless movies. Thousands of songs tell a story involving love. I think you will agree that, however it is defined, it is essential to life, or at least the enjoyment of life.

This cliché is meant to convey the importance of what you do relative to what you say; that the action that you take should carry more weight than whatever you said you were going to do or not do.

Every time I hear this cliché, it is being used as a warning to someone who is either thinking of making a job change or who is under the belief that everyone else has it better than he does.

Taken in that context, this is good advice. If all you do is talk about yourself and your accomplishments, you will eventually have to get used to the sound of your own voice because no one else will want to spend time with you.

I have always interpreted this cliché as a reference to someone who is more valuable or may have more to offer than what you might think upon first impression.