Why Your Gains Mean Nothing

[Metalject]

The haters thread and the one about feeling small is what got me to thinking about this.

You hear guys here and other places online talk about how much better shape they're in than everyone else, they're the top 5%, there are so many fat people, etc. etc. etc. But how much does it really matter? How much does it positively affect your life as well as the rest of the world? I have to say I believe your gains and your physique are possibly one of the most meaningless things in the world.

Look at the most powerful people on earth. I'm not talking about some idiot celebrity but people that hold real power. None of them are what anyone here would consider in great shape, they're either fat or skinny by physique world minded standards. However, each and everyone of them holds more power, wealth, influence and I'd even say importance in terms of the state of the world than you. You may be bigger and stronger, leaner and harder, but in comparison to them, even though they are 30% body fat, you are meaningless.

And this is where arguing starts. There are all sorts of justifications, but at the end of the day, 99.99% of the time, the gym rat's life is less successful and meaningful than the non-rat's. Sure, you can make the argument about meaningful to one's self, I live the gym lifestyle for me or any of that what I like to call "new age gym life bullshit" that you want, but that doesn't change reality.

And no, this thread isn't bashing you or anyone else. I enjoy going to the gym as much as anyone here. And the point of this thread isn't to attempt to persuade you or anyone else from living the way you do. More than anything, I guess you could say these are just rambling thoughts I've had for awhile. At one time in my life the gym life was so important to me, so much of my life revolved around it, actually everything in my life revolved around it in one way or another. But the more I look at life and the world the more I come to realize how meaningless all that stuff is. I'm not talking about in comparison to the important things like family and being happy in life, I'm simply saying your physique, my physique or anyone's physique is really not a determining factor for success, true success. If it were, the truly powerful would all be 5% and ripped to the bone when in fact not a single one of them are.

[BG]

If they lose all that money power and wealth I'm still fuking big! They are just little fat fuks with nothings.

[novastepp]

I appreciate your post Metalject.

The same things that help me make gains in the gym keep me successful in my family, my relationships, and in my career: perseverance, dedication, passion, and hard ****ing work.

This is the relationship that myself and many others realize: Its the drive to be the best. Its the drive to make a difference, even if it is a difference in my own life, its an improvement.

Everyone applies it to what they see as important:
The top 5% intellectually have decided to apply their dedication, passion, and hard work to studying a subject.
The top 5% in regard to wealth have decided to apply their dedication, passion, and hard work to making money.
The top 5% in bodybuilding/physique have decided to apply their dedication, passion, and hard work to training.

Ultimately, each individual decides what is important, and if its power then you have to apply your dedication, passion, and hard work to being powerful.

I choose happiness, so I have applied my dedication, passion, and hard work to the aspects of my life that make me happy: being a spouse, a father, a friend, a teacher, and an athlete.

[Trapology]

Youre right for sure and ultimately when you look at it beside richard brawnson most rich people arnt in good shape

But i do know if you look better you at least feel better. And thats a step in a positive direction

[Hazard]

You can take away my car, cable, electric, and even my house..... But my physique is mine and only mine. You can't take it from me..... Fvck power. I'd rather look good and help others than be filthy rich and fat

[musclestack]

The haters thread and the one about feeling small is what got me to thinking about this.

You hear guys here and other places online talk about how much better shape they're in than everyone else, they're the top 5%, there are so many fat people, etc. etc. etc. But how much does it really matter? How much does it positively affect your life as well as the rest of the world? I have to say I believe your gains and your physique are possibly one of the most meaningless things in the world. The recurring trend here is that those people who have to tell the rest of the world how great of a physique they have, more than likely, have nothing else going on for them, which is why they're unsuccessful in any other areas of their lives. Hell, they probably don't even attempt to do/be anything else because all they think about is the gym. I am the author of the 'haters' thread, and if you look back on it, I referred to these people as 'bros'. You know, the kind of people that won't shut up about lifting weights and eating protein, and they have over 100 selfies of them flexing on their social media accounts.

Look at the most powerful people on earth. I'm not talking about some idiot celebrity but people that hold real power. None of them are what anyone here would consider in great shape, they're either fat or skinny by physique world minded standards. However, each and everyone of them holds more power, wealth, influence and I'd even say importance in terms of the state of the world than you. You may be bigger and stronger, leaner and harder, but in comparison to them, even though they are 30% body fat, you are meaningless. IMO, it's about priorities. As I touched on above, obviously if you spend every minute of your day lifting weights/thinking about your physique, there's no room/time for anything else. I, personally, give 100% in everything I do. It's not limited to moving heavy objects around. I have a career, I am finishing my degree in civil engineering, and I plan to one day run my own business. All of these things I give 100% attention to in their given time allotments. Now obviously, if I focused solely on one of these endeavors, I would most likely excel further in that particular field, but for me, it's also about finding a balance. I couldn't see myself being happy if, for example, I ONLY focused on working up the corporate ladder at my current job. Working out makes me happy (amongst other things), and as a result, also helps me maintain that happiness/balance on the other issues I mentioned. I think it's good to be selfish, in a way, and concentrate on what we want to do/be.

And this is where arguing starts. There are all sorts of justifications, but at the end of the day, 99.99% of the time, the gym rat's life is less successful and meaningful than the non-rat's. Sure, you can make the argument about meaningful to one's self, I live the gym lifestyle for me or any of that what I like to call "new age gym life bullshit" that you want, but that doesn't change reality. That really depends on what 'non-rats' you're speaking of and how you define success. When I look around, I see that most people are worse off than I am, if we're basing success off of power/money/influence. Let's face it, most people don't have the drive/dedication/discipline to do ANYTHING out of their comfort zone, so nothing ever changes. I'm building my own portfolio, slowly but surely...it's just that I'd rather be as physically strong as an ox while doing it. The typical 'non-rat' not only has nothing going on for them elsewhere, but they've let their own bodies go as well. Not that I'm judging, because, quite honestly, I simply don't care what they do. I just know what I want to do, and I can control that.

And no, this thread isn't bashing you or anyone else. I enjoy going to the gym as much as anyone here. And the point of this thread isn't to attempt to persuade you or anyone else from living the way you do. More than anything, I guess you could say these are just rambling thoughts I've had for awhile. At one time in my life the gym life was so important to me, so much of my life revolved around it, actually everything in my life revolved around it in one way or another. But the more I look at life and the world the more I come to realize how meaningless all that stuff is. I'm not talking about in comparison to the important things like family and being happy in life, I'm simply saying your physique, my physique or anyone's physique is really not a determining factor for success, true success. If it were, the truly powerful would all be 5% and ripped to the bone when in fact not a single one of them are. I don't think anyone here will argue that success is dependent upon one's physique but, for me personally, hitting PRs in the gym gives me a sense of satisfaction and drive to succeed in other endeavors.

I look at it this way, and I believe I touched on it in my 'haters' thread: There are some really successful people in the world that have their own personal hobbies/lifestyles that help them escape reality for a while. I have a close friend who owns his own business and does very well for himself. Every photo I see of him on social media is him fishing. I'm not kidding, there's got to be a thousand pics of him fishing lol. So, by your definition of success, he's doing great for himself and also found a way to achieve a balance in his life that allows him to unwind and pursue something else he's really passionate about.

[73rr]

I feel like having a gym life style has help me learn how to strive for greatness and no I don't me for my body! I mean for everything family, work everything!

I never give up and I will always do what I have to to be the best I can. That came from working out and living this life style! I now of many ppl with that kinda story.

This life style teaches u how to strive for greatness and how to truly work for what u want.

[Metalject]

All good responses above.

I should clarify or reiterate I'm not being anti-gym or anti-gains or whatever you'd like to call it. And I'm not saying a gym involved lifestyle is a waste of energy. The topic is more or less something that's become an interesting thought to me, that those that hold the most power and influence in the world rarely if ever have any kind of physique or physical power at all. They may be healthy but that's not what I'm talking about, and often enough they probably aren't that healthy.

musclestack, you're right, we all put our energy and focus into different areas. And you're also right, most people, gym rat or not have little to nothing going for them. In my OP I'm focusing on a small segment of the population, very small.

[DCI]

You can take away my car, cable, electric, and even my house..... But my physique is mine and only mine. You can't take it from me..... Fvck power. I'd rather look good and help others than be filthy rich and fat

Agreed 100%

A friend was the CEO of the biggest companies in the uk. Yes he was powerful made lots and lots of money and retired relatively young. But he looks older than my father and hes older than him.

I'd rather do what I'm doing now than have to live with all that stress and bs that big money and corporations bring to your live. It is the same for the head of the company I work for. Yes shes really well paid and has great status but the company owns her.

In the gym you have the total control over everything its all on you there is no hiding no blaming anyone else.

This is a life choice for me yes when you boil it down to its basics its a silly way to do things but so is any pro sports what does it really add to the world.not an awful lot tbh but its enjoyable and something to occupy your mind.

[Euroholic]

You could argue nothing in life matters. Most people lack goals and direction in life especially in relation to "work" who wants to spend their whole life working away fuk that. People need to plan their life out better and focus on what makes them happy and do things for them self not allow other people to hold them back.

[kelkel]

I am not one-dimensional.

(Very interesting points above.)

[musclestack]

All good responses above.

I should clarify or reiterate I'm not being anti-gym or anti-gains or whatever you'd like to call it. And I'm not saying a gym involved lifestyle is a waste of energy. The topic is more or less something that's become an interesting thought to me, that those that hold the most power and influence in the world rarely if ever have any kind of physique or physical power at all. They may be healthy but that's not what I'm talking about, and often enough they probably aren't that healthy.

musclestack, you're right, we all put our energy and focus into different areas. And you're also right, most people, gym rat or not have little to nothing going for them. In my OP I'm focusing on a small segment of the population, very small.

Completely understand what you're saying, Metal. I, too, have pondered this. I think it's a matter of that 5% (probably closer to 1% actually) of people who are of high influence and power, put every last second of their life in attaining and maintaining that power/influence. Just like you could argue that all the Mr. Olympias put nearly every second of their lives into bodybuilding. Everyone has different goals in what they want to achieve...thus comes the priorities. Those people of high status you speak of are just as obsessed with gaining that status as a pro bodybuilder (or even a 'gym bro') is obsessed with his chosen lifestyle.

After re-reading my response to you above, I also want to clarify that I am, in no way, against the guys who focus on absolutely nothing else other than the gym and taking a million selfies of themselves flexing in the mirror, as I know that's how it may have come off to some. After all, these people have absolutely no effect on my life, positive or negative, and that was part of my point when it came to making the 'haters' thread. Just live and let live. The 'haters' themselves don't even really bother me. I just wanted to point out that there are a lot of insecure people out there who hate to see others succeed and love to see them fail...this is the classic approach from someone who views their own self as a failure.

I'm nothing special. I'm definitely not one of the 1%ers with high status and great influence. One could argue I'm just floating around just like everyone else...I just happen to lift heavy weights while I do my floating lol!

[TheTaxMan]

Couldmt care less about power or money personaly.
My familys love and their health and my physique out weigh anything

[marcus300]

The haters thread and the one about feeling small is what got me to thinking about this.

You hear guys here and other places online talk about how much better shape they're in than everyone else, they're the top 5%, there are so many fat people, etc. etc. etc. But how much does it really matter? How much does it positively affect your life as well as the rest of the world? I have to say I believe your gains and your physique are possibly one of the most meaningless things in the world.

Look at the most powerful people on earth. I'm not talking about some idiot celebrity but people that hold real power. None of them are what anyone here would consider in great shape, they're either fat or skinny by physique world minded standards. However, each and everyone of them holds more power, wealth, influence and I'd even say importance in terms of the state of the world than you. You may be bigger and stronger, leaner and harder, but in comparison to them, even though they are 30% body fat, you are meaningless.

And this is where arguing starts. There are all sorts of justifications, but at the end of the day, 99.99% of the time, the gym rat's life is less successful and meaningful than the non-rat's. Sure, you can make the argument about meaningful to one's self, I live the gym lifestyle for me or any of that what I like to call "new age gym life bullshit" that you want, but that doesn't change reality.

And no, this thread isn't bashing you or anyone else. I enjoy going to the gym as much as anyone here. And the point of this thread isn't to attempt to persuade you or anyone else from living the way you do. More than anything, I guess you could say these are just rambling thoughts I've had for awhile. At one time in my life the gym life was so important to me, so much of my life revolved around it, actually everything in my life revolved around it in one way or another. But the more I look at life and the world the more I come to realize how meaningless all that stuff is. I'm not talking about in comparison to the important things like family and being happy in life, I'm simply saying your physique, my physique or anyone's physique is really not a determining factor for success, true success. If it were, the truly powerful would all be 5% and ripped to the bone when in fact not a single one of them are.

Peoples gains mean a great deal to them or I should say my gains mean a great deal to me but to say you or others may see them has meaningless because that person doesn't hold any importance in terms of the state of the world is a statement what is totally meaningless . Your statement "I look at life and the world the more I come to realize how meaningless all that stuff is. I'm not talking about in comparison to the important things like family and being happy in life, I'm simply saying your physique, my physique or anyone's physique is really not a determining factor for success, true success" this would solely depend on how you view and judge success.

All individuals have certain opportunities and paths we take, we all cant change the world to be a better place, we all cant be this powerful person what can positively change and affect peoples life's around the world but that person CAN make his contribution in his best way possible to how he see's and views life.

I fully understand your post and believe me through my years of being on this planet I've asked myself many times what am I doing what is it all about, but this usually at times of some kind of upset or me not feeling totally happy within myself for certain reasons, and as ive got older does it really matter how many heads I turn when I walk down the street? well to be honest you can't answer that question because its all individual.

What you may think means something in life may not to me or others. Also on bodybuilding forums all you see is what that Internet Individual wants you to know and many play this internet persona, but in reality you have zero knowledge what any of the people here or on forums are doing or who they are in real life and I would go as far you would be extremely shocked at some individuals and their impact on the world and life towards how you look at the definition of meaningless.

[almostgone]

^^^^^^

[DCI]

Just to add to my previous post.

When you start to boil down all aspects of life to their bare ingedients you will start to doubt it all. And tbh this is what makes us all individually great as no one person will agree with everything that we all stand for.

A lot of famous and successful people have been in the right place at the right time and a lot of their hard work is due to being spotted with someone who has more money than them look at all the rappers etc. No doubt the record companies are coining it in. There is some talent there but I'd imagine there is a lot more talented poor people than the famous people.

My point being that once you are happy with your lot what is wrong with that. Not everyone is going to conqour the world and tbh I couldnt give a fck if a friend of mine is a billionaire id be happy with them as I am happy with what I have and my family are all well. There is a lot more to life than status and cars

[noon]

You can take away my car, cable, electric, and even my house..... But my physique is mine and only mine. You can't take it from me..... Fvck power. I'd rather look good and help others than be filthy rich and fat

I'm taking your gym membership.

BOOM

[< <Samson> >]

It's all in the eye of the beholder

I'm no politician, hardened business man or a scientist.

Those are just a few examples of career fields that people dedicate their lives to. Me - I don't have one, so I might as well be the best juiced me I could be.

In the real world - which most of us live in. Little shit like that is pretty nice to have. I'm not the biggest, but I sure look more impressive than the next choad.

It's on a similar level of why people are into cars for instance. Yeah, I know my car is no Ferrari, but she'll run with one - well, on a good road that don't require many sharp turns.


It's like the little shit we do to set each other apart.


I'm no pro bodybuilder or even close, but I can bag on fat gross people all day long - y, well - cause I can.

If one of those fat people is Donald Trump - well, I still look better.

[< <Samson> >]

Oh yeah, almost forgot

Aside from true HRT, what "we" tend to forget is that this is just a hobby. It's not life or death - yet, in some cases we think it is.

OMG not my gainz!

[Hazard]

I'm taking your gym membership. BOOM

I have a full home gym too :-)

[yeahbuddy289]

This post hit me pretty hard... Many times have I thought the exact same thing. I mean, I dont think my girlfriend is going to care what my body fat percentage is, or what im weighing, or how big my arms are when the bills are piling up because I have an average job, at best. Like many others, I would love to be successful and well-off. However, I lack the ambition, determination, and motivation to go out and get it. Its not that I dont have those qualities because I do... I apply them everyday to bodybuilding. Sometimes I get a little down thinking about where i'd be if I had applied myself financially the way I apply myself to bodybuilding.

[BG]

This post hit me pretty hard... Many times have I thought the exact same thing. I mean, I dont think my girlfriend is going to care what my body fat percentage is, or what im weighing, or how big my arms are when the bills are piling up because I have an average job, at best. Like many others, I would love to be successful and well-off. However, I lack the ambition, determination, and motivation to go out and get it. Its not that I dont have those qualities because I do... I apply them everyday to bodybuilding. Sometimes I get a little down thinking about where i'd be if I had applied myself financially the way I apply myself to bodybuilding.

Damn were in the same boat, floating down the same river.

[yeahbuddy289]

Damn were in the same boat, floating down the same river.

And in the same crappy state as well! Lol it's tough man, I wish I had a goal or a plan to achieve financial success (like opening my own business or something) but I don't... The only thing I want and have a passion for is this sport.

[TheTaxMan]

There will be people out there who are financialy sucessful wishing they had a great looking body but lack the drive or the time to achieve it.

Lets face it, most of us want several success's in life, money, car, house, family, body, nice town, nice country, peace

Its rare someone has them all.

I think the title of this thread is a dumb statement if im honest.

"Why your gains mean nothing"

You could walk down every avenue in life and say this to everyone, you could log on to a fishermans hobby forum and say why fishing means fvck all.

Its someones hobby and it means everything to them.

Money buys a lot but doesnt always buy happiness, theres a guy in our town who won the lottery and he is now divorced and an alcoholic as well as a gambling addict, before winning the lottery he was so happy with what he had.

[RangerDanger830]

Wealth and social influence means nothing if you die in your 50s from heart disease. My neighbor was the CEO of a logistics company in my town, he had it all. Died at 52 from an AAA. Here I am.

You know, it is possible to be yoked and successful. It is not the gym-rat lifestyle hindering people's success most of the time. Actually, that dedication tends to help more than hurt.

So I'm going to stay in the gym and continue to do cardio as well. Success is not always a measure of wealth and power.

[Hazard]

Wealth and social influence means nothing if you die in your 50s from heart disease. My neighbor was the CEO of a logistics company in my town, he had it all. Died at 52 from an AAA. Here I am. You know, it is possible to be yoked and successful. It is not the gym-rat lifestyle hindering people's success most of the time. Actually, that dedication tends to help more than hurt. So I'm going to stay in the gym and continue to do cardio as well. Success is not always a measure of wealth and power.

*like*

Success imo is a measure of how good of a person your are and what you get out of life. If I have family, friends, and I'm considerate of others, I'm not an asshole, and i do what I can within my capability to make someone's day better..... Then I've been successful. You don't need money for those things. I'd be the same person with or without money.... With or without a nice physique.

[Metalject]

The point of the original post wasn’t to start a discussion on what makes us happy, whether our lives can be deemed successful or not, etc. That’s all been talked about to death in 1,000 different threads. But maybe the thought I was trying to express is a bit of a hard one to get across clearly. Although most of the responses in the thread have been good, I don’t think I did a good job trying to say what I wanted to say. Anyway, hopefully I’ll come up with a clearer way of getting it across, but if not, hey it’s not the end of the world.

[musclestack]

The point of the original post wasn’t to start a discussion on what makes us happy, whether our lives can be deemed successful or not, etc. That’s all been talked about to death in 1,000 different threads. But maybe the thought I was trying to express is a bit of a hard one to get across clearly. Although most of the responses in the thread have been good, I don’t think I did a good job trying to say what I wanted to say. Anyway, hopefully I’ll come up with a clearer way of getting it across, but if not, hey it’s not the end of the world.

I think I have a clear understanding of what you're saying, and correct me if I'm wrong. I think what you're saying can be more generalized and made much simpler. Basically, anyone who puts 100% of their time and energy into one investment, is likely to get a much higher return on that particular investment, as opposed to someone with a more diversified portfolio that puts, say 40% into that investment, 30% in another, 20% in another, and 10% into yet another.

In other words, someone who is renowned for being financially successful as well as having a lot of influence and power, more than likely put nearly 100% of his/her effort into attaining that and didn't have the time/resources to invest their efforts into anything else (like going to the gym regularly). Then, we have someone who is a bit more diversified in their efforts and what they want to put time into. Say, someone who is relatively successful (as defined by money, power, and influence), but also makes time for other things. Chances are, they're not going to be on the same level of success (as defined above) as the first guy, but they're still going to make a return on their investments relative to what they invested (time, effort, etc) in the first place.

[Metalject]

I think I have a clear understanding of what you're saying, and correct me if I'm wrong. I think what you're saying can be more generalized and made much simpler. Basically, anyone who puts 100% of their time and energy into one investment, is likely to get a much higher return on that particular investment, as opposed to someone with a more diversified portfolio that puts, say 40% into that investment, 30% in another, 20% in another, and 10% into yet another.

In other words, someone who is renowned for being financially successful as well as having a lot of influence and power, more than likely put nearly 100% of his/her effort into attaining that and didn't have the time/resources to invest their efforts into anything else (like going to the gym regularly). Then, we have someone who is a bit more diversified in their efforts and what they want to put time into. Say, someone who is relatively successful (as defined by money, power, and influence), but also makes time for other things. Chances are, they're not going to be on the same level of success (as defined above) as the first guy, but they're still going to make a return on their investments relative to what they invested (time, effort, etc) in the first place.

All the things you're saying are true. Although I'd say even if you put 100% of all your effort into one area there's still a chance it may fail, that's just life. However, I guess my main point was more along these lines...

Look at the most powerful people in the world:
Heads of State
Generals or those that lead massive armies
People on lists like this one at Forbes:
Forbes Welcome
While you could argue a few of these to a degree and you could certainly argue some of the placement, overall it's a good list.
Every person on this list, good or bad, has crushing power and influence in the world. Some of them did just as you said and put every bit of their energy into one area of life. But many of them, that's not the case. There is no one size fits all path. However, one constant truth among the top 75 most powerful people in the world is none of them are bodybuilders currently or in the past or are fitness minded. Moreover, if you made a list of the top most powerful people in the past 100yrs you'd find the same to be true.

That is more or less the jumping off point in discussion I was going after.

You could even start a similar discussion surrounding less powerful but still holding a massive influence with CEOs, actual ones, not ones that are self-titled, there are only a few 100 thousand in the U.S. out of 350 million people.

[Euroholic]

Putin has alot of power alot of money and for a oldy is in good condition. He would have to be the toughest world leader. And i read that California is the worlds 7th largest economy so arnie would have to be up there also

[Honkey_Kong]

Metalject, I don't agree with you at all about this. Gains or anything for that matter that you're in to isn't meaningless. It means something to you!

But to get this away from being a philosophical question here, let me just say being rich and powerful (which you were claiming was the true definition of success) doesn't necessarily correlate with being an out-of-shape slob. There are plenty of poor out-of-shape people. There isn't many people in shape in the world in any economic class.

I can't prove this, but I bet you there are more wealthy people that are in shape proportionally to the class than there are in the lower classes.

And by the way, you may know of this guy:



He's like 70 years old, a billionaire and he's pretty jacked.

[Metalject]

Metalject, I don't agree with you at all about this. Gains or anything for that matter that you're in to isn't meaningless. It means something to you!

But to get this away from being a philosophical question here, let me just say being rich and powerful (which you were claiming was the true definition of success) doesn't necessarily correlate with being an out-of-shape slob. There are plenty of poor out-of-shape people. There isn't many people in shape in the world in any economic class.

I can't prove this, but I bet you there are more wealthy people that are in shape proportionally to the class than there are in the lower classes.

And by the way, you may know of this guy:



He's like 70 years old, a billionaire and he's pretty jacked.

The title of the thread, "Why Your Gains Mean Nothing" is nothing more than a little tongue and cheek, meaning, it shouldn't be taken as literal. I would think that's obvious but perhaps it's not. Further, since I actually hate, even almost despise the word "Gains" and have said so numerous times - it's just one of those words that irks me, I would think again my point and intent was obvious, but again perhaps it wasn't.

I do disagree with you though that just because something holds meaning to someone means it actually holds meaning. But, that's a different argument.

And no, I'm not saying being rich and powerful is the definition of success. I'm not even talking about success vs. unsuccessful. The topic is power and influence on the world and society as a whole. Yes, actual monetary wealth does play into that a good deal, but it's also a secondary topic.

[tempest818]

It very well matters! Screw the gains...you learn how to dedicate yourself to something and stay consistent no matter what, and you can apply this skill to anything you ever do! Plus...."he who has the biggest arms, wins"-Jesus

[< <Samson> >]

And - "mean nothing" is a bit of a shallow term.

Mean what & to whom? Me? My wife, or the rest of the world?!

Some of the above replies sound a tad depressing though.

Juicing, bodybuilding or whatever someone may call this is just one of my hobbies.

[APIs]

Good topic. IDK, I guess it comes down to one’s perception and their self-determined position in life.

As a business owner, I’d say I’m relatively successful and weight training just helps ‘me’ to accomplish this on a personal level. However, the daily requirements of running a business demands balance. If I devote too much time to the gym, my business, livelihood & personal life will surely suffer.

If comparing myself to Mark Zuckerberg, my individual accomplishments may seem insignificant. However I’m not comparing myself to anyone, except maybe competitors or the random colleague in my industry. Based on these markers alone, I’m doing pretty well thank goodness.

It’s been said on this site that the only person I’m really competing with is myself. I find this logic very true both in the gym and in my chosen profession. I’m relatively happy in life and that's what matters most in the end.

Then again, I’d be lying if I said I don't enjoy the “holy-crap” look of a competitor’s face when they meet me for the first time at a trade show .

[Juced_porkchop]

The haters thread and the one about feeling small is what got me to thinking about this.

You hear guys here and other places online talk about how much better shape they're in than everyone else, they're the top 5%, there are so many fat people, etc. etc. etc. But how much does it really matter? How much does it positively affect your life as well as the rest of the world? I have to say I believe your gains and your physique are possibly one of the most meaningless things in the world.

Look at the most powerful people on earth. I'm not talking about some idiot celebrity but people that hold real power. None of them are what anyone here would consider in great shape, they're either fat or skinny by physique world minded standards. However, each and everyone of them holds more power, wealth, influence and I'd even say importance in terms of the state of the world than you. You may be bigger and stronger, leaner and harder, but in comparison to them, even though they are 30% body fat, you are meaningless.

And this is where arguing starts. There are all sorts of justifications, but at the end of the day, 99.99% of the time, the gym rat's life is less successful and meaningful than the non-rat's. Sure, you can make the argument about meaningful to one's self, I live the gym lifestyle for me or any of that what I like to call "new age gym life bullshit" that you want, but that doesn't change reality.

And no, this thread isn't bashing you or anyone else. I enjoy going to the gym as much as anyone here. And the point of this thread isn't to attempt to persuade you or anyone else from living the way you do. More than anything, I guess you could say these are just rambling thoughts I've had for awhile. At one time in my life the gym life was so important to me, so much of my life revolved around it, actually everything in my life revolved around it in one way or another. But the more I look at life and the world the more I come to realize how meaningless all that stuff is. I'm not talking about in comparison to the important things like family and being happy in life, I'm simply saying your physique, my physique or anyone's physique is really not a determining factor for success, true success. If it were, the truly powerful would all be 5% and ripped to the bone when in fact not a single one of them are.

if it makes YOU happy then it does batter. to me the money and power are just as meaningless if you dont have the deep personal wisdom of life and enjoy all it has to offer.
being bigger and stronger matters to me as much as having alot of money and/or power. yes i drive towards them, but in reality i know as part of WHO I AM at the core they are meaningless.

many put too much importance on gains and waste too much of their life in the gym, when they could be going for a walk in nature or doing something more productive to the world, but the same can be said for those that only care about money and power, its about balance. and if you associate your personal worth with gains or money then your already fuked IMO

life a couple times a week, eat right for gains AND health and strive to make money and be productive, but dont put all your worth into either... just my opinion

[t.m.s.flyers88]

I think you have to find a proper perspective, some balance, and I also think you have to learn to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. Life is hard, it can kick your ass. Try to focus on the positives, because most people are pretty unhappy with themselves: fat want to be thin, thin want to be big, tall/short, blonde/brunette, light skin people go tanning, plastic surgery etc.. If you are already unhappy material goods/ monetary will not buy you happiness. People with money, just find something else to worry about.
I don't know what this all means. Are we supposed to live the way we do? I dont know.. We are all just mammals, walking & talking monkees. I recommend Monty Python's The Meaning of Life...

[45lb]

At one time in my life the gym life was so important to me, so much of my life revolved around it, actually everything in my life revolved around it in one way or another.

Rich Piana talks about that in this video, how he used to feel that way, and how it shouldn't be like that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-rbmGNSrrw

[Score]

Anything you work hard for - means something.

[Score]

If you live your life in 3rd person - you will never be happy.