Consequences are patient enough to wait until excuses have been forgotten.

Consequences do not expire when the justification does. You can explain a choice, be forgiven for it, forget it entirely, and the effect still arrives years later, indifferent to whether the reasoning has held up. Time weakens the excuse much faster than it weakens the result.

This is worth remembering while deciding rather than afterward. Ask whether you are choosing something you can live with once the reason has faded and only the outcome is left standing.