The Plague of Self-Righteousness

Metaphorical Narrative

Picture a city gripped by a strange plague. People walk the streets with steel in their eyes, convinced they carry the cure. Each insists they see more clearly than the rest, pointing fingers, prescribing fixes, demanding compliance. But something is off — the more they correct others, the weaker they themselves become.

This is the plague of self-righteousness. It feels like armor but is actually infection. It spreads through certainty without self-examination, through the belief that the battle is out there while the real decay begins inside. The warrior who surrenders to it no longer sharpens his blade — he spends his life patrolling others while his own edge rusts away.

Core Insight

Self-righteousness is the disease that halts growth.

• It bypasses inner work with the illusion of already being right.
• It fuels control — turning agency outward instead of inward.
• It blocks actualisation, because you cannot change what you refuse to admit is broken.

The cure is brutal clarity: responsibility for self, humility that cuts deeper than pride, and the discipline to fight your own illusions first.

Saturday Experiment 🦠

1. Spot the Plague: Catch one moment today when you felt “I know better.” Pause and turn it inward: “What is rusting in me right now?”
2. Sharpen the Blade: Pick one area where you’ve been coasting on “I’m right” and actively challenge yourself. Seek friction that forces growth.
3. Refuse Patrol Duty: When tempted to correct someone else, stop. Reinvest that energy into an act of self-responsibility you’ve been avoiding.

Sunday Reflection 🛡️

• Where did he fall into self-righteousness this week, mistaking armor for infection?
• What illusions did he fight inward instead of projecting outward?
• How did humility sharpen him more than certainty?
• If he is free of the plague, how would he carry himself differently — as a warrior of inner ground, not a patroller of others?