I heard some years ago that our brains have one basic scale with which to assess experiences, from the lowest low to the highest high, and so we resize our experiences to fit that scale. This is why filthy-rich have-it-all celebs get depressed and hate their lives (and of course the opposite.)

The same is true for alpha/beta concepts. You can lift, dress well, be a stoic champ who hits all the right notes with your girl, whatever you consider to be the essential alpha 'boxes' to tick - but when your car breaks down and you're getting schooled at the roadside by some recovery guy who knows his stuff, you may well feel like a little boy. And your girl will sense that - because women are masterful at understanding these things, for reasons we all know well.

Maybe you're killing it in your line of work, and you decide to take you and the girl on a luxury vacation. Showing off your cash and your finely-honed beach body. Book into a suite, swap wine tips at dinner with the sommelier. You're the man! Until you hit the beach and you are being one-upped by the scruffy beach bum who works the water-ski shack, while he takes your gf for a test spin, showing off a few tricks on the way. She'll have a great time getting pulled into this guy's frame while you stand there like a spare wheel.

Point is - there is no absolute scale of alpha-ness and no absolute set of activities or habits that you can pursue that will give you ultimate, unbreakable frame in every situation. Sometimes, you're going to be the absolute man, and sometimes you're not - and it's out of your control.

The good news? Women feel the 'right now', what's in the moment, and moments pass. Fighting to keep on top of every situation and be top dog everywhere, always, is an impossible waste of energy that will likely lead to you exhibiting some very non-manly, unsatisfying characteristics.

My approach is simple - in those situations I acknowledge that I'm meeting with another alpha, and treat them as such. I don't get pissy or defensive - I actively choose to step into their frame and have a good time doing so. That choice to acknowledge context and engage confidently even from a less than masterful position is what matters. In other words - don't fight it, feel it.

Tldr - don't waste time chasing an absolute alpha concept - adapt yourself to situations and contexts, and recognise that circumstance won't always let you be the biggest, baddest dude in the room.