The Pain of Being Right
The other night I was in a conversation online that turned into a full-on paradox. Pure schadenfreude. The kind of “tolerance” we have seen from some individuals sporting the hypocrisy flag…
I’ll spare the details, however the irony was palpable. At first, I just laughed at the poetry of it. And then the more I thought about it, the more it revealed something I see all the time in my work as a CHEK practitioner.
When you’re angry, conflicted, and trying to prove yourself to the world, you’re swinging a dark, heavy sword. It’s funny because in that act, you’re the epitome of the “bad guys” you’re going on about and “fighting”. You feel powerful in the moment ‘cause you win the debate, you get the last word, you feel “justified.” But your body just feels the stress, not who’s right or wrong.
And that stress piles up as:
Chronic pain (tension your mind fails to release)
Illness (an immune system that’s drained from constant conflict)
Exhaustion (adrenals running overtime to keep you in fight mode)
I’ve seen it in my own athletes, and I’ve lived it myself. Anytime I get caught in the loop of needing to explain, defend, or validate myself, my body pays the price. Sleep suffers. Muscles ache. Energy tanks.
That’s the kicker: the sword always wins, because it cuts the hand that wields it.
So here’s the real medicine: notice when you’re exhausting yourself for validation.
Ask yourself:
What part of me feels unsafe if I fail to prove my point?
Why do I keep explaining when the other side isn’t even listening?
What would happen if I put the sword down and turned that energy back into my own health, creativity, and joy?
The outer battle is always a reflection of the inner one. If your world feels like a warzone, chances are your body’s already fighting for its life inside you.
So maybe your pain, fatigue, or illness is less about bad luck. Maybe it’s just the sword you’ve been gripping too tightly…
Put it down. Rest. Breathe. Heal.
Because no “win” out there is worth losing your health in here. Life is an infinite game, and when you stop seeing sides you’ll start playing again.