--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no such thing as a list of…" description: "\"There is no such thing as a list of reasons. There is either one sufficient reason or a list of excuses.\" — Robert Breault" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab9/robert-breault-304_excuse_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-list-of-reas_1901852.png" --- # There is no such thing as a list of reasons. There is… ![“There is no such thing as a list of reasons. There is either one sufficient reason or a list of excuses.” quote by Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab9/robert-breault-304_excuse_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-list-of-reas_1901852.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab9/robert-breault-304_excuse_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-list-of-reas_1901852.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab9/robert-breault-304_excuse_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-list-of-reas_1901852.png) > “There is no such thing as a list of reasons. There is either one sufficient reason or a list of excuses.” [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Either a single sufficient reason exists or excuses are made; no endless list. **In simple terms:** You need a real reason, not many excuses. Key Takeaway Identify the core reason behind actions. Themes motivation reasoning excuses Mood reflective critical Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - goal setting - habit formation - problem solving Key Concepts existentialism decision theory Questions to Reflect On - What is the true reason for your goal? - How do you differentiate reason from excuse? A Different Perspective Over‑simplifying may ignore complex factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuses/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [There is always sufficient reason for despair, but there is never sufficient purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/there-is-always-sufficient-reason-for-despair-but-there-is-never/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [You either will have achieved the goals you set for yourself, or you will have a list of excuses for why you havent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/you-either-will-have-achieved-the-goals-you-set-for-yourself-or-you/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [If there is no sufficient reason for war, the war party will make war on one pretext, then invent another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-la-follette-sr/if-there-is-no-sufficient-reason-for-war-the-war-party-will-make-war/) [Robert M. La Follette, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-la-follette-sr/) > [The truth is, however, that every religion form is superior to the others in a particular respect, and it is this characteristic that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frithjof-schuon/the-truth-is-however-that-every-religion-form-is-superior-to-the/) [Frithjof Schuon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frithjof-schuon/) > [Sound and sufficient reason falls, after all, to the share of but few men, and those few men exert their influence in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/sound-and-sufficient-reason-falls-after-all-to-the-share-of-but-few/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [We should recognize the reality that just because something is good is not sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/we-should-recognize-the-reality-that-just-because-something-is-good/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [“It has occurred to me more than once that holy boredom is good and sufficient reason for the invention of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/it-has-occurred-to-me-more-than-once-that-holy-boredom-is-good-and/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [I have come to believe that holy boredom is good and sufficient reason for the invention of free will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/i-have-come-to-believe-that-holy-boredom-is-good-and-sufficient/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“holy boredom is good and sufficient reason for the invention of free will.   —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/holy-boredom-is-good-and-sufficient-reason-for-the-invention-of-free/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“...only in relatively recent times have people decided that "because I want to" is sufficient reason for annoying others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/only-in-relatively-recent-times-have-people-decided-that-because-i-2/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [I wrote a novel because I had a yen to do it. I believe this is sufficient reason to set out to tell a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-wrote-a-novel-because-i-had-a-yen-to-do-it-i-believe-this-is/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [I sit in my garden, gazing upon a beauty that cannot gaze upon itself. And I find sufficient purpose for my day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/i-sit-in-my-garden-gazing-upon-a-beauty-that-cannot-gaze-upon-itself/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Excuses are a list of self imposed obstacles that prevent you from having a better life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-horton/excuses-are-a-list-of-self-imposed-obstacles-that-prevent-you-from/) [Tony Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-horton/) > [For every person who atones, a hundred others find regret sufficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/for-every-person-who-atones-a-hundred-others-find-regret-sufficient/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [You will find that the more successful the individual, the less inclined he is to make excuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-joseph-schwartz/you-will-find-that-the-more-successful-the-individual-the-less/) [David Joseph Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-joseph-schwartz/) ## More by Robert Breault > [You will not find a soulmate in the quiet of your room. You must go to a noisy place and look in the quiet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/you-will-not-find-a-soulmate-in-the-quiet-of-your-room-you-must-go-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Never mind the odds against you. If you doubled your effort, what would the odds against you do — send for reinforcements?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/never-mind-the-odds-against-you-if-you-doubled-your-effort-what-would/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Retirement is having nothing to do and someone always keeping you from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/retirement-is-having-nothing-to-do-and-someone-always-keeping-you/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [There is in art the notion of less is more, which is to say, you don't torture a painting that has already confessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/there-is-in-art-the-notion-of-less-is-more-which-is-to-say-you-don-t/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [One's dream is defeated not by unsolvable problems, but by all the more-or-less satisfactory solutions that kill it forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/one-s-dream-is-defeated-not-by-unsolvable-problems-but-by-all-the/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [I cultivate my garden, and my garden cultivates me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/i-cultivate-my-garden-and-my-garden-cultivates-me/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [In the end you regret less the things you believed that weren't true than the things that never came true because you didn't believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/in-the-end-you-regret-less-the-things-you-believed-that-weren-t-true/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The trick to getting ahead is to give it the same effort you give to getting even.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-trick-to-getting-ahead-is-to-give-it-the-same-effort-you-give-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Man will have replicated his own intelligence not when he teaches a computer to reason but when he teaches a computer to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/man-will-have-replicated-his-own-intelligence-not-when-he-teaches-a/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [To hurt someone you know will forgive you is the unkindiest thing of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/to-hurt-someone-you-know-will-forgive-you-is-the-unkindiest-thing-of/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [For every person who atones, a hundred others find regret sufficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/for-every-person-who-atones-a-hundred-others-find-regret-sufficient/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [As a means to success, determination has this advantage over talent - that it does not have to be recognized by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/as-a-means-to-success-determination-has-this-advantage-over-talent/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [As a gardener, I wonder if flowers really can't speak or just exercise unfailing good judgment in the matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/as-a-gardener-i-wonder-if-flowers-really-can-t-speak-or-just-exercise/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Genius is a plodding intellect, incapable of dreaming up the obstacles that stop the rest of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/genius-is-a-plodding-intellect-incapable-of-dreaming-up-the-obstacles/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) [Explore all 710 Robert Breault quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) ## More Excuse quotes > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [My non-career. My excuse for a career? Honestly, I never think about the word 'career.' I've had managers, the minute they say it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-verlaine/my-non-career-my-excuse-for-a-career-honestly-i-never-think-about-the/) [Tom Verlaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-verlaine/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [International friendly games are not worth the lives of the silk worms who perish to make the pennants. They do not even have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/international-friendly-games-are-not-worth-the-lives-of-the-silk/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) > [Win without boasting. Lose without excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-payson-terhune/win-without-boasting-lose-without-excuse/) [Albert Payson Terhune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-payson-terhune/) > [And the commitment that I've been giving to the Australian people is that there'll be no surprises and no excuses under a Coalition government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/and-the-commitment-that-i-ve-been-giving-to-the-australian-people-is/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [Dont leave without a reason, and then try to come back with an excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dont-leave-without-a-reason-and-then-try-to-come-back-with-an-excuse/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Using, as an excuse, others' failure of common sense is in itself a failure of common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/using-as-an-excuse-others-failure-of-common-sense-is-in-itself-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I resolutely believe that respect for diversity is a fundamental pillar in the eradication of racism, xenophobia and intolerance. There is no excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rigoberta-menchu/i-resolutely-believe-that-respect-for-diversity-is-a-fundamental/) [Rigoberta Menchu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rigoberta-menchu/) > [I'm not the guy who will sit in a room with somebody who's using a bunch of big words and just act like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/i-m-not-the-guy-who-will-sit-in-a-room-with-somebody-who-s-using-a/) [Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/) > [Worst Break Up Excuse; 'You deserve so much better.' Translation: They've already moved on whether you like it or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/worst-break-up-excuse-you-deserve-so-much-better-translation-they-ve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A lie is an excuse guarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-lie-is-an-excuse-guarded/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Live with No Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyanendra/live-with-no-excuse/) [Gyanendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyanendra/) Browse all 2,435 Excuse quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no such thing as a list of reasons. 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