The natural laws apply to rationalization in the exact way the OP says they apply. And exactly in the way I attempted to articulate.
There is an exact answer to the question: How fast can I run 1 mile right now? It is a fixed number that takes into account the unchanging laws of the physical universe.
Let’s say the number is 4 minutes.
If the number is 4 minutes, and I fail to run 1 mile in four minutes, then anything I say about my failure to acheive 4 minutes is a rationalization. I may say whatever I like to help myself feel better about failing, but it does not correspond the the natural laws of the universe. I may even (subconsicously) convince myself 4 minutes is impossible, and therefore practically ensure I never acheive what is actually possible for me in the physical universe.
And, exactly the way the OP said in regard to the opposite case, there are natural laws that dictate a fixed answer to what is not possible for me to acheive on my run today. If 4 minutes is truly possible, but 3:59 is truly not, then I may use the physical restraints of reality to demonstrate that fact, and it would be called “presenting evidence”. (By the way, I think it is important to try and know what is not possible today. Unreasonable expectations, in my experience, are one of the biggest detriments toward maintaining motivation and staying happy.)
I’ve experienced this firsthand (as have probably most people who run). It is amazing how much you can justify failure to acheive what is possible under physical duress. When you are exhausted, each step becomes a practice in instrumental rationaility—Do I choose to acheive what is possible according to the natural law? Or do I rationalize my failure (my choice) to optimize my performance? Once you recognize this is what you are actually doing on a step-by-step basis, you can go about the business of figuring out how to remedy it.
Everything short of what is possible is allowed to stand in our minds as “the best I could do” by means of rationalization. It’s just a convenient lie.
The natural laws apply to rationalization in the exact way the OP says they apply. And exactly in the way I attempted to articulate.
There is an exact answer to the question: How fast can I run 1 mile right now? It is a fixed number that takes into account the unchanging laws of the physical universe.
Let’s say the number is 4 minutes.
If the number is 4 minutes, and I fail to run 1 mile in four minutes, then anything I say about my failure to acheive 4 minutes is a rationalization. I may say whatever I like to help myself feel better about failing, but it does not correspond the the natural laws of the universe. I may even (subconsicously) convince myself 4 minutes is impossible, and therefore practically ensure I never acheive what is actually possible for me in the physical universe.
And, exactly the way the OP said in regard to the opposite case, there are natural laws that dictate a fixed answer to what is not possible for me to acheive on my run today. If 4 minutes is truly possible, but 3:59 is truly not, then I may use the physical restraints of reality to demonstrate that fact, and it would be called “presenting evidence”. (By the way, I think it is important to try and know what is not possible today. Unreasonable expectations, in my experience, are one of the biggest detriments toward maintaining motivation and staying happy.)
I’ve experienced this firsthand (as have probably most people who run). It is amazing how much you can justify failure to acheive what is possible under physical duress. When you are exhausted, each step becomes a practice in instrumental rationaility—Do I choose to acheive what is possible according to the natural law? Or do I rationalize my failure (my choice) to optimize my performance? Once you recognize this is what you are actually doing on a step-by-step basis, you can go about the business of figuring out how to remedy it.
Everything short of what is possible is allowed to stand in our minds as “the best I could do” by means of rationalization. It’s just a convenient lie.