Rationalization

• Sour Grapes: "I didn't get the job, but I didn't really want it anyway"

• Necessity: "I had to yell at them—they left me no choice"

• Comparison: "Everyone else does it, so it's fine"

• Minimization: "It's not that big a deal"

• Good Intentions: "I only did it because I love them"

• Victimhood: "I acted that way because of what they did to me"

• Deserving: "I work so hard, I deserve this"

• One-Time Exception: "Just this once won't matter"

• Future Self: "I'll start tomorrow / make up for it later"

• Helplessness: "There's nothing I can do about it"

• Too Late: "The damage is already done, so I might as well continue"

• Special Circumstances: "My situation is different"

• Blame Shifting: "If they hadn't done X, I wouldn't have done Y"

• Lesser Evil: "At least I'm not as bad as them"

• Denial of Harm: "Nobody got hurt"

• Inevitability: "It was going to happen anyway"

• Efficiency: "The ends justify the means"

• Expertise: "I know what I'm doing, the rules don't apply to me"

• Time Pressure: "I didn't have time to do it the right way"

• Exhaustion: "I was too tired/stressed to think straight"

• Provocation: "They pushed my buttons"

• Character Defense: "That's just who I am"

• Past Suffering: "After everything I've been through, I'm entitled"

• Reciprocity: "They did it to me first"

• Ignorance: "I didn't know any better"

• Loyalty: "I was just protecting my family/team"

• Authority: "I was just following orders/rules"

• Social Proof: "No one else seemed to have a problem with it"

• Perfectionism Excuse: "If I can't do it perfectly, why bother"

• Cost-Benefit: "The benefits outweigh the costs"

• Temporary State: "I wasn't myself"

• Noble Cause: "I did it for the greater good"