Morning filled with dread, But.........

[gadguy]

This morning was my first time back at gym after a 6 month absence, I came very close to not going. When I got out of bed my mind filled with all the nightmarish times I had had back in High school in gym class, you know...short, skinny, nonathletic, uncoordinated last guy to be picked for any teams and a coach who was anything but sympathetic. All this just came flooding back this despite the fact i have been working out and a gym regular for at least the last 5 years and am in pretty good shape compared to some on my former tormentors from back in the day. I pushed through telling myself that i was no longer that guy and made it to gym to find myself being welcomed back by regular morning gym crowd. I was worried for nothing. I have to remember that my ghost of the past are just that ghost.

[NixonRulz]

Good thread and an even better lesson and reminder to all of us

In high school, I was thin but very athletic and played a bunch of organized sports. Stayed pretty thin though even after high school.

Some years back, I decided to build to what I had always hoped and went to the gym religiously and supplemented heavily.

At 6'1" I got to just under 200 pounds with a fairly low body fat percentage and was really pushing myself physically.

When I looked in the mirror though, I still saw skinny. I recall someone who I worked out with getting to the size that was my goal. We were all out with our wives one night and people were taking a bunch of pictures. When I looked at the pictures of us as a group, I realized that I could wreck that guy. I wasn't at all skinny. I was getting too f*****g big!

Moral of the story, you will always perceive yourself as you believe yourself to be. Whether not big enough, smart enough, good looking enough, and the list goes on. If you believe yourself to be inferior in any way, why would you be surprised if people treat you that way? That is what you are projecting.

[gadguy]

Good thread and an even better lesson and reminder to all of us

In high school, I was thin but very athletic and played a bunch of organized sports. Stayed pretty thin though even after high school.

Some years back, I decided to build to what I had always hoped and went to the gym religiously and supplemented heavily.

At 6'1" I got to just under 200 pounds with a fairly low body fat percentage and was really pushing myself physically.

When I looked in the mirror though, I still saw skinny. I recall someone who I worked out with getting to the size that was my goal. We were all out with our wives one night and people were taking a bunch of pictures. When I looked at the pictures of us as a group, I realized that I could wreck that guy. I wasn't at all skinny. I was getting too f*****g big!

Moral of the story, you will always perceive yourself as you believe yourself to be. Whether not big enough, smart enough, good looking enough, and the list goes on. If you believe yourself to be inferior in any way, why would you be surprised if people treat you that way? That is what you are projecting.

That is so true about how we perceive ourselves, A few years back I met up with some old college Frat brothers, we were discussing who went grey, who went balled, who got fat etc...and when it came to me they commented that I had gotten Buff...I was like who me??!! Old perceptions are hard to let go.