The Master Strategist Called Your Ego
There's a version of you who knows how to win.
He plays the long game.
She calculates the angle, anticipates the mood, rewrites the narrative mid-sentence.
He calls it "intuition."
She calls it "discernment."
It's actually just the Stratego self—
the part of you trained to survive before you were ever safe.
Sarge has been running the show for a while now.
Reading every room. Managing every risk.
Controlling the energy before anyone else gets a chance.
He's not cruel. She's not broken.
They've just been on high alert for longer than anyone should have to be.
But listen, Corporal—
you're not at war anymore.
You don't need to protect your heart with a 25-point contingency plan.
You don't need to scan the whole board before making one honest move.
You don't need to win love by outmarting it.
Because your true self?
They're not playing.
They're breathing.
Feeling.
Trusting.
Letting.
They don't need to read the energy in the room—
they are the energy in the room.
So let the strategist rest.
Give Sarge the weekend off.
She earned it. He did his job.
They got you this far.
Now it's your turn.
To move without armor.
To speak without strategy.
To love without the game face.
Peace is not the prize.
It's the path.
Permission granted.
