From an early age, we are told: “Measure 7 times - cut 1 time”, warning against hasty, thoughtless actions. Consider the meaning of the saying and explain it.
Possible origin
Analysis of sources, unfortunately, did not give any results. But it seems that the expression may have come from the tailors' milieu. After all, it is very easy to cut off something, but to attach a piece of matter back so that the seams are not visible is almost impossible.
That's why they say "measure 7 times - cut 1 time", because there will be no going back.
Meaning
When we choose products to take home, we should not think for a long time, because everything is almost clear anyway. It is necessary to focus on our desires or, perhaps, plans for the evening. For example, we came up with the idea of making spaghetti with cheese for dinner, so we don’t need to think long here, we just take the ingredients of this dish.
Things are different when you have to make a fateful decision. For example, where do you go to study? Here it is worth weighing the pros and cons, then take a sheet, write down your strengths and weaknesses, think abouttheir interests. Some, however, are not so fundamental in choosing a speci alty and trust the university on a geographical basis, that is, the one that is closest to home. They, of course, cut from the shoulder, and we urge you to adhere to the proverb “measure 7 times - cut 1 time.”
True, practice shows that we have a fundamental approach to choosing a speci alty or not, we still fulfill a spontaneous social order. Simply put, most of our professional knowledge is gathering dust somewhere in our subconscious, but unused skills form the basis for our intuition. Those who trust the river of time tend to run aground. And our subject, among other things, teaches a conscious attitude to life.
Pros and cons of caution
Consciousness is good, but it is brought up with caution. An impetuous person hardly thinks about the consequences of his actions, even when the results are completely deplorable. Actually, this is called experience. There is a misconception that a fool learns from his own mistakes, and a smart one learns from others. Practice shows that no one or almost no one learns from the mistakes of others, because a person secretly believes in his own uniqueness and infallibility. I. A. Brodsky expressed this in a capacious line: "Death is what happens to others." Moreover, the expression is universal, because illnesses, troubles, hardships - all this also happens to others. If someone else's experience taught something, then, probably, there would be less misfortunes in the world. Although the experience of the next of kin still teaches, themore so when the person was directly suffering from a lifestyle dictated by well-known bad habits. But even such a “science” is not mastered by all those who suffered in childhood, some, on the contrary, reproduce the destructive lifestyle of their parents, not finding a better answer to the challenges of life.
But one who is guided by the expression "measure 7 times - cut 1 time", as a principle, is unlikely to fall into the clutches of pathological illusions, because phraseology insists on an extremely serious attitude to reality and the world. Therefore, one must think carefully before acting.
But the cautious position has its downsides, they are easy to predict. The main flaw boils down to the argument, or rather, the famous quote from the film, which everyone will definitely watch on December 31: "You can't do great things." A person who constantly thinks about safety and about “whatever happens” most likely will not be able to meet crazy love or commit an adventurous act. But, of course, the saying “measure 7 times - cut 1 time” does not draw pathology into its semantic orbit. It speaks of banal, but at the same time, moderate sanity. We especially wish the latter on the eve of the New Year holidays.
