This Doesn’t Work for Me
False exemption often hides behind logic. We convince ourselves that the strategy is valid, the tool makes sense—but not for someone like me. This isn’t ignorance. It’s identity-protection dressed up as reason.
There’s a moment I’ve seen more times than I can count.
You offer someone a strategy—clean, tested, well-reasoned.
They nod. They get it. Maybe they’ve even seen it work before.
And then they say it:
“Yeah… I see what you’re saying. But that doesn’t work for me.”
They don’t push back aggressively.
They don’t argue with your logic.
They just disqualify themselves from the solution.
And at first glance, it sounds honest.
It sounds reflective.
But often, it’s something else:
A defense mechanism dressed up as discernment.
It’s false exemption in its most seductive form—the belief that this thing that helps others couldn’t possibly apply to me.
This mindset sounds like:
- “I’ve tried that before.”
- “That might work for someone who’s wired differently.”
- “I know myself—I know that won’t stick.”
- “That’s just not how I process things.”
- “It’s not that I don’t want to change. I just know that method isn’t me.”
On the surface? All reasonable.
But underneath?
A kind of self-protection so subtle it feels like clarity.
We aren’t rejecting the advice—we’re rejecting the possibility of change.
This isn’t just resistance. It’s a quiet decision to stay the same.
And what makes it powerful is that it hides behind plausible intelligence.
We tell ourselves we’re being self-aware.
We think we’re setting boundaries.
But what we’re really doing is protecting an identity that’s afraid to loosen.
I’ve done it.
I’ve disqualified myself from growth strategies because they didn’t match the story I had about who I was.
Because if I tried something “out of character” and it worked…
then I’d have to admit I’ve been wrong about myself.
That’s what most people don’t realize:
False exemption isn’t about the tool. It’s about protecting the version of you who doesn’t use it.
So what do you do when someone says:
“That doesn’t work for me”?
You don’t argue.
You don’t sell harder.
You get curious about the version of themselves they’re protecting.
Because until that part of them feels safe enough to loosen…
…they’ll keep saying no to the right thing, for the wrong reason.
Post 3 of 4 in False Exemption: Why We Reject the Tools That Could Free Us
