Context Matters – Why Most “Experts” Are Playing a Different Game

Look closely at a lot of the experts you follow—the life optimization crowd, the health gurus, the peak performance influencers.

You’ll notice two things almost immediately:

• 1. They often don’t have kids or major non-negotiable responsibilities pulling at their time, energy, and emotions.
• 2. They usually have way more disposable income and flexibility than the average person.

This skews everything they say.

• A 3-hour morning routine? Easier without a toddler screaming.
• Custom blood work, hyperbaric chambers, red light therapy? Easier with a $10M net worth.
• Taking a sabbatical to “reconnect with your inner self”? Easier when your income doesn’t stop if you do nothing.

Context matters. Their advice isn’t wrong—it’s just optimized for a different reality.

Most people are operating under harder constraints:

• Limited time.
• Limited money.
• Real-world obligations that can’t be pushed aside for “self-care.”

If you try to copy them 1:1, you set yourself up to feel like a failure. Not because you’re lazy. Because you’re playing a different game, with different rules.

The smarter move:

Take principles, not practices.

• Principle: Daily physical activity matters.
• Practice: Maybe it’s a 10-min bodyweight circuit between meetings—not a 2-hour gym session.

Adapt advice to fit your constraints.

• Principle: Mindfulness helps focus.
• Practice: Maybe it’s 30 seconds of deep breathing before a tough call—not a silent retreat.

Bottom line:

Be ruthless about context. Take what fits your real life. Leave the rest without guilt. Optimizing isn’t about copying "ideal" setups—it’s about doing the best with the deck you’re actually holding.