The excuses that actually stop us are often true.

“I don't have the money.” “I don't have the time.” “I have kids.” “I started too late.” “I tried before and it didn't work.”

I've used every one of these, and meant them. None of those are necessarily lies. A person can genuinely lack the money, the hours, the childcare, the experience, or the connections. That is what makes a good excuse so powerful. A weak excuse falls apart when you look at it. A true one can hold up for years.

The problem is what happens next. “This makes it harder” quietly becomes, “this is why.”

Those are not the same statement.

Money gets a vote. Time gets a vote. Kids absolutely get a vote (often loudly and sometimes before sunrise). Your past gets a vote.

But none of them automatically get 51 percent.

Take money, for example. “I don't have enough” can be completely true. But “How much am I actually short?” is a different question. Now there is a number. Maybe the number is too big. Maybe it takes longer than you hoped. Maybe the math still says no.

But at least you know what you are dealing with.

The circumstance did not change. The money did not appear. What changed was whether you treated the obstacle as the end of the conversation or something worth examining.

Sometimes you find a way around it. Sometimes you decide the cost is too high. Sometimes the answer really is no.

That is different from letting one true fact answer the question before you do.

The strongest excuses are rarely ridiculous. They are reasonable. They are built around something real.

That is why they are so convincing.

And why they deserve a second look.

Real does not mean final.

What is one true reason you have been treating like a verdict?

— Ricky