ok fine next time we both happen to end up in AC you have to meet me so I can get you drunk and talk you into these pictures then make a new thread lol

That's great that you make that clear delineation.

The fact is though, that many people get stressed by their internal pressure.

Hypothetical example:

Sally wants to lose 100 lbs. She's been obese the majority of her life. After a ton of struggle with losing and gaining, self doubt, limiting beliefs and thought processes, etc, etc.... she decides to put her foot down and succeed no matter what.

She sets goals and established outlines of how she's going to go about obtaining said goals.

Yet, each morning when she wakes up she feels nervous and uneasy. Much like you might when a problem arises causing stress. For Sally, even though she made up her mind to reach her goals, the very process of losing weight stresses her out emotionally.

Now that she's made up her mind... it's do or die time. She either succeeds or she fails. What if she fails? What does that mean to her? What does that mean for her future?

Pressure leads to doubt and doubt leads to limiting questions.

Soon, the same pain that caused her to make up her mind about losing weight causes her to fail. Where the pain originally led to things such as disgust, regret, etc... it now leads to internalized pressure that stresses her or scares her out of living up to the goals she set for herself.

It's seems crazy and illogical... however, I've seen it quite a few times. Sure, it's usually not so cut and dry. It's usually not something you can point a finger at and say, "Sally is stressing herself to the point where she sees pain in moving forward."

The stress from the internalized pressure is usually multifaceted but there's always a foundation of thought patterns that are similar in each case. I say it time and time again but perception and self-talk are awesome forces that break people down time and time again.

In truth, I've experienced very similar patterns that I've corrected. Not with my weight or physique... but other areas. It's all the same.

I didn't know you stopped.

Then who the fuck is that in my bushes?!

It's rare I let drunken pictures slip out on to the Internet, lol.

I'm not saying it hasn't been done.

But it's rare.

I'm making a career of getting people to do what I want them to do lol I'm fairly confident in my abilities...I'm not trying to get you to go all Miley Cyrus on us....think of it as giving back to the community if you will

I'm sure I appear that way outwardly to some as well... because it's what I present and what I choose to talk about...

With regards to weight loss and fitness... for me it's always been a moving target.. yes, I have high expectations... and i get frustrated and annoyed with myself when I fail to meet those expectations... but I don't ever see it as a failure... it's generally a kick to not give up... Pressure to keep going forward...

Ohhh, ok.

That makes a lot of sense.

If I'm being honest, I've got nothing to show off right now. My pics in my album now are when I was 20 lbs heavier. At least.

I've lost fat and muscle netting out to nothing spectacular... not that I was spectacular before.

Maybe I just have to view this differently.

I'll be taking pictures to show people what NOT to do if they wish to look better over time, lol. Although my primary goals weren't to look better; they were the business and improving performance and work capacity.

And that's a damn respectable quality that most struggle to grasp.

There is no failure if you don't stop trying.

This doesn't say much about the journey mentality though. It sides more with the destination mentality.

There's a lot of middle ground that helps improve the 'ride.'

I don't care how you justify it at the end of the day lol let's see em....

We'll see...

That's the best you're getting from me.

I get the journey mindset... but my entire life I've always been about the What's Next... not necessarily where i'm ending up... because I dont know where i will end up - (if someone had told me 5 years ago, i'd be living in Chciago -i'd say what the hell are you smoking)

Satisfaction with the here and now scares me - for lack of a better term - because if I am satisfied with whatever I've accomplishedf -there's not a lot to encourage me from going forward..

That's a good point.

But, and it's a big but...

Satisfaction doesn't = contentment

Similar for sure. The former leaves room for progress... that latter does not.

I too would have never guessed where I'd be if you had asked me 5 years ago where I'd be in 5 years. But it's certainly an exercise I do from time to time, just to assure forward progress was made. And this says a lot about being flexible and dynamic, as well about goals being moving targets. I'm as goal focused as they come. I have them written down. I have deep-rooted emotions attached to hugely enormous goals I've set for myself. I tap into these emotions on a consistent basis. The list goes on. Even with this though, I still can't predict where I'll be in 5 years, even in relation to my goals.

I can bank on being satisfied though.

I try and be satisfied with myself and my efforts as much as possible assuming I'm putting consistent effort in. If I'm not feeling it, I try and figure out why. What perceptions are limiting my satisfaction? What questions am I asking myself that are incorrect? Etc.

It's hard to express I suppose. I'm goal focused. That can also mean I'm destination focused. But my current state doesn't depend on my goal or destination.

My current state has everything to do with how I'm thinking about myself and my environment in the moment.

my destination has changed dramatically since I began this expedition...

and my GPS is on the fritz - so I seem to take a lot of side trips and not so scenic detours... but it's been a road trip of learning a lot more about myself so while it might not be the most efficient method of getting to where I should/would/want to be...

We'll see about that...

Heyas Steve

Im all for many pictures of you posted so we can use that as a guide and a goal that we can aim for (i meant the muscles thing not the 'being a guy' thing)