From Sickbed to Comeback: Turning Good Reasons Into Bad Excuses

When Life Gives You Reasons (to Quit), Don’t Turn Them Into Excuses

This week, life handed me a very good reason to stop doing everything.

Let’s just say my stomach decided to launch a full rebellion. Whether it was my last meal in Thailand or my first dish in Taiwan, I got hit hard—stomach flu or food poisoning, take your pick. Either way, I was bed-bound for nearly five days, feeling like I’d been steamrolled by a buffet gone rogue.

I couldn’t eat, couldn’t think, and definitely couldn’t do much besides occasionally wondering if I’d ever feel normal again. Even now, my appetite isn’t fully back. Certain foods still make me queasy, and I’m still low on energy. Let’s not even talk about the bathroom situation—I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say the plumbing got a workout.

But here’s what struck me: when you’re sick, it’s incredibly easy to put things off. You give yourself a free pass—and rightly so at first. Rest is important. But then a funny thing happens… that legitimate reason slowly starts turning into a comfortable excuse.

I caught myself doing it. I signed up for a Jiu-Jitsu competition this year—something I do annually to challenge myself. But as I lay in bed, barely able to eat rice, my brain whispered:
“You’ve been sick. You’re not at 100%. Just skip it. You’re not a pro anyway, right? No one will care.”

And honestly? That reasoning felt so good. It made me feel safe. It made me feel justified. But underneath that warm blanket of logic was a cold truth:
I was using a real reason to dodge something hard. That’s how reasons slowly become excuses.

It’s a sneaky shift. Maybe you’re facing something real—illness, loss, disability, burnout—and your reason is 100% valid. But eventually, if we’re not careful, that reason becomes our new normal. We start using it as a shield against everything uncomfortable, boring, or difficult.

And that’s where the danger is.

So today, I reminded myself: Don’t let this reason become an excuse.

I took a deep breath. Got out of bed. Told myself, “You’re good enough to get back up. You’re strong enough to walk out that door.”

Was it easy? No. I still felt tired. I still felt off. But I wasn’t going to let my comeback story be hijacked by a leftover noodle or a bowl of questionable street food.

Because the moment you stop showing up for your life—even in small, wobbly ways—that’s the moment the excuses win.

So here’s my message to you (and to myself): If life gives you a reason to pause, take the pause. Rest. Heal. But when it’s time to move again, don’t let that reason turn into an escape hatch.

You’re stronger than that.
And you’ve got too much potential to waste it in bed binge-watching regrets.