My daddy done told me two things I've taken to heart.
The first was,"it's not the sleeping; it's the lying awake" that creates problems when it comes to sex.
The second was, "if you're crossing the street, keep walking," so drivers can better adjudge how to avoid running you down.
Maybe the reason these morsels of common sense have stuck with me is because they were delivered during a month-long visit when I was sixteeen -- the last I ever saw of a father from whom I was removed for my own good at the age of eight. Whatever the reason, they are also proof that it doesn't take much to make a lasting impression, especially if life goes on to validate the advice.
The issue in the difference between sleeping and lying awake is, of course, identifying the right cause. Causes lead to effects but, much as people would like, reasoning backwards from the effects to the cause usually doesn't work. Reasoning from a measurable and visible reality, such as a ton of money, to the conclusion that a lot of hard work and virtue was involved is, albeit widely believed, usually false. The easiest way to accumulate money is to steal it and then lies merely serve to disguise the theft.