If you’ve been on social media for more than five minutes, you’ve probably been force-fed some influencer’s “morning routine” or their “10 non-negotiables for success.” Maybe it’s some guy who wakes up at 4 AM, takes an ice bath, journals his gratitude, drinks some overpriced mushroom coffee, and does “breathwork” before even thinking about breakfast.
And guess what? According to him, that’s why he’s successful. And he practices this routine and more, every single day.
No, it’s not. And no he doesn’t. Which is what brings me to this reminder:
What you’re seeing isn’t a blueprint for success. It’s content.
And it’s designed to make you feel like your life is some version of a mess so you keep watching. If you’re trying to mimic an influencer’s every move, you’re missing the point of living in the real world.
(The Fantasy vs.) Reality Check
Let’s get something straight: most influencers aren’t living in the same world as you – at least not through the messaging they’re trying to convey through their histrionic Instagram posts.
Those posts do nothing to remind you about the realities of juggling a 9-to-5, paying a mortgage, commuting in traffic, or figuring out how to get your kid to practice on time, while squeezing in a workout of your own somewhere in the mix.
These are professional content creators whose job is to make their unrealistic lives look enviable. The more aspirational their lifestyle appears, the more engagement they get. The more engagement they get, the more money they make off ads, sponsorships, and affiliate deals.
Meanwhile, here on earth, you’re thinking that waking up before the sun and meditating for 30 minutes is going to solve your problems—when really, what you’re more likely to be getting out of it is less sleep and more stress.
The Viral Routine Doesn’t Fit Your Life
These viral routines can assume a lot about your circumstances. They assume you:
- Have unlimited time in the morning.
- Have zero responsibilities before 8 AM.
- Can afford all the overpriced supplements they’re pushing.
- Work a job that allows you to dictate your schedule.
- Live in an alternate reality where kids, bills, and basically any real-world responsibilities don’t exist.
For most people, real life just doesn’t work that way. If you’re waking up at 6:30 AM to get ready for work, you’re not rolling out of bed to do two hours of “self-care” and sip artisanal tea while journaling your innermost thoughts. You’re making coffee, grabbing whatever food is convenient, and getting out the door to make a living.
And guess what? That’s fine.
For my 7AM clients I see first in the morning, I’m up at 5:30. No matter what season, it’s dark outside at that time. It takes some conditioning to make that a routine wake-up time.
Two things about this:
First, for that 7AM, I’m out the door by 6:10. My morning routine is to wake up, pee, shower, get dressed, squeeze in a little mobility or stretching, and get going.
Second, as I write this, I’m sitting on my bed during a day off of clients. My body naturally woke me up at about 6:45 this morning with no alarm, which is around the usual. Due to my day-to-day, I feel like I’ve “slept in” when this happens. Wild, but I’m sure many reading this can relate.
Suffice to say, I’ll be damned if some influencer routine plants the seed that being awake in the 6’s on an off day will ever be considered “not enough” or “lazy”. Get real.
My point is this: Trying to force some influencer’s meticulously curated feigned lifestyle into your real-world schedule is a surefire way to feel like a failure when you absolutely inevitably can’t keep up with it.
Influencers Sell You a Lifestyle, Not a Solution
This is the biggest thing people need to understand: influencers aren’t selling you success, discipline, or health. They’re selling you the illusion of those things—wrapped up in aesthetics, filters, and maybe even just enough pseudo-science to sound convincing.
They want you thinking that by purchasing the supercharged greens powder, cold plunging, and spending 15 minutes visualizing your dream life, you’ll somehow unlock peak performance.
The truth is, it’s all just like fitness and training; You know what actually gets results? Consistency and hard work. That’s it. No magic pill, no secret morning formula, no life-changing smoothie recipe. The problem is, that’s not sexy enough to sell. No one wants to hear that you need to just keep showing up, putting in the effort, and trusting the process. So instead, influencers package up an embellished version of daily habits like they’ve cracked the code on success and dangle it in front of you like bait. It also creates enough distraction from thinking about the possibility of how happy they actually are behind the scenes, and whether other aids may be at play to help maintain certain aesthetics.
Contradictions in Conniving, and Discord in Dishonesty
What’s easily my favorite part of all of this, is the fact that the influencer life advice actually exists in two general polar opposites of the same spectrum – one side of it being geared toward self-care and ultimately unlocking some form of actualization, and the other side of it being geared toward secular success and financial gain. Depending on who you talk to or follow, one of these opposites should take first place as most important, as much as they may compete with one another.
At the same time you wake up and have your 4AM cold plunge, journaling, meditation, outdoor grounding, and daily affirmations, you actually should have been up at 3:30 to get a two hour head start on emails and working at your laptop; these are your most productive hours of the day and give you a leg up on your competition.
Being more present in the moment by developing more connection with humans, being charitable and solicitous, and emotionally available and vulnerable? Yeah, that’s contradicted by taking on the classic CEO or pro athlete mentality of winning at all costs, even if it means putting certain relationships on the backburner to get to where you want to be.
No blue light after 8PM, and bedtime by 9:30PM to promote mental calm and quality sleep? Hard to do when you’re at networking events building your contact list and learning ways to build your brand, because “never stop grinding”.
The contradictions are strong.
Talk to any true self-care zealot in the real world, and they’ll probably tell you they’re not too big on becoming a one percenter.
Talk to any A-type executive one percenter in the real world, and chances are, because of their lifestyle, they’re admittedly not too big on self-care.
Focus on What Actually Moves the Needle
If you want to improve your life, focus on the fundamentals that actually make a difference. Forget the influencer nonsense and dial in on staples like getting enough sleep, eating real foods, exercising consistently, and finding paths to stress management that work well for YOU. I like going to the movies.
Being productive with the time you have is the key. Not everyone can “block out 3 hours for deep work.” You’ve gotta do the best with what you’ve got.
None of these things require you to mimic some internet guru’s lifestyle. They just require you to be honest about what you need and what actually fits into your life.
Influencers Don’t Care About You—They Care About Engagement
At the end of the day, most influencers aren’t trying to help you.
They’re trying to keep you watching to help themselves.
They’re optimizing their content for views, likes, and shares, not real-world results. If they actually wanted to help, they’d give you advice that works for the average person, not just those with abnormal freedom and resources.
The more extreme or unrealistic their lifestyle seems, the more viral it goes. That’s why you see them doing things like eating raw meat and calling it “ancestral living.” Or drinking salt water at sunrise and acting like it’s a life hack. Or running 100 miles a week for “discipline”. Or preaching about waking up at 3 AM like it’s a superpower.
None of these things make a real difference in your life unless you’re already handling the basics.
But basics don’t go viral. And they don’t sell supplements or programs.
Live Your Own Damn Life!
Here’s the bottom line: you don’t need to overhaul your life to match some influencer’s “perfect routine.” If waking up at 5 AM makes you miserable, don’t do it. If journaling feels forced and useless, skip it. If you don’t have time for an hour-long morning ritual, don’t stress about it.
You’re not failing because you don’t live like an influencer. In my books, “failing” is wasting your time chasing a lifestyle that was never meant for you in the first place.
So stop trying to fit into someone else’s Instagram aesthetic and start focusing on what actually makes sense for your life.
Because those people making these viral routines?
Yeah – most don’t even follow them themselves.
Keep it real.
