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If a person wants to do something but he is not able to do that due to some personal reason, what is the exact word for that reason?

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.... an excuse? – Milind Ganjoo Apr 18 '12 at 10:18
I think this is "not constructive". If I want to fly to the moon, am I constrained by my personal lack of wings, or by the "external, real-world fact" that there wouldn't be enough air to flap against once I got a few miles up? – FumbleFingers Apr 18 '12 at 12:31
Please elaborate on what you mean by "personal reason." Do they hold moral reservations, like a conscientious objector? Maybe it's a physical limitation, or lack of sufficient talent. Or maybe it's a schedule conflict. Or maybe something like parental duty limits their freedom. – J.R. Apr 18 '12 at 17:44

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That reason could possibly be called an "obligation":

something by which a person is bound or obliged to do certain things, and which arises out of a sense of duty or results from custom, law, etc.

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Limitation might work. One of its definitions is "the extent of one's capacity or a constraint that stops something." It could be a physical limitation, a mental limitation, or a scheduling limitation. An example sentence in this dictionary definition is: He knows his limitations as a writer.

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