There is a lot of truth here.  The "ghosts" do indeed exist, and continue to motivate.

https://www.t-nation.com/training/the-secret-to-lifting-forever?utm_source=tnation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_dose-181202&fbclid=IwAR2iBaol9-nOXU0Qdq6RmWC9Z_mFNcUc5oOJOEffUhUDbv9bjZf6kHpwFQ8

Probably one of the worst of fates.

Like a frog wearing a pair of pants.

I have a lot of those “ghosts”.
Both my parents were lazy, never exercised, ate what they wanted and my dad smoked through three heart attacks.  Still, they both lived into their 80s.
I go to the base gym (retired military) three times a week, eat right, keep my waist under 32” and my weight under 145 (I’m 5’9” and almost 73 years old).
With the advances in medicine, I figure that, for every year I live, medical science will add at least one more.  
I plan to live forever and so far I’m right on schedule.

lotta truth to that. Getting old and weak and not being able to do simple things myself is terrifying.

Part of mine are memories of seeing people in nursing homes when I would visit my grand parents. It was so scary and depressing to me. I never want to be in that situation.
I want to be 80 and people say, "that is one hard ass old man!"

Exact same experience for me. Life lesson there....

I got a sneak peak earlier this year when I lost my pancreas. Six months of laying in a bed made me so weak I couldn’t walk. Lost over 100lbs andI looked like a frail old guy. That sucked. The whole time I was thinking that must be about like the hell those old people in homes get to go through their last few years. Being weak and helpless was the worst thing I’ve ever had to go through.

Several of the surgeons that took care of me said I would never have made it if I wasn’t so strong to begin with. It’s motivated me to get stronger than ever though, among other things.

No bullshit, I thought you had to have a pancreas?  I don't even know what it does, but everyone who says cancer there says it really bad.

You do. It makes your insulin and the digestive enzymes that let you process fat. They told me I would die. They were kinda right as I did die for a bit but I’m getting along with exogenous insulin and pills with enzyme stuff in them. I think the cancer there is bad due to it’s propensity to spread everywhere quickly. I’ve known two guys that died from that and it didn’t take long. Last CT I had showed less than 10% of mine left in there but fuck that little guy, he was an asshole and I didn’t want him anyway.

Damn, good for you BASE. That's intense.

My motivation is longevity, functional strength, and being able to recover from shit when I'm old.  Not to mention the positive effect strength has on balance for old people.  I'm not going to be one of those guys who is otherwise healthy but goes down due to a broken hip in my late 70s.

I have to admit I am wallowing in regret the last few weeks.  I was a strong lifter way back in my early 20s, and I quit and did sedentary work.  I was slapped with a reality check this summer, when I had a hard time lifting a fucking 2x12x12 for a deck.  

Now in my mid 40s, I am learning that I can make good gains, but I am more prone to injury from lifting - as well as the slow recovery compared to a younger guy.  It's frustrating as hell, because I could easily spend the time in my gym every day from a motivational aspect (I do 5x5 every other day) and I absolutely love my time in it.  Makes me wonder why I waited so long to finally quit being a fatass.

I think I have a fairly significant shoulder injury, I don't know when it happened but may have been OH press or bench.  Seems like a rotator cuff or torn labrum.  This is very depressing, because the thought of having to take 6 months off post surgery to heal would really piss me off.  I want to get back to the total I was at in my youth (~1200 or so) within a year if possible.  Tired of being weak, waking up with a stiff back and achy knees from doing a little bit of physical work.

I have seen some gains but the shoulder is pretty damn discouraging.  Right now I am stubbornly working through it (no pain during the lifts, just at night afterward) and trying to work around it a bit with good form.

Ironic thread, because I "work out" with my "ghosts"... or more accurately my fears.

I'm an older dad with young kids so staying fit for them is always in the forefront of my mind.

However, on specific lifts, I often imagine a need to move them to safety or lift something off of them - to get that last bit of motivation/intensity.

ex.  OHP is imagining them standing on the bar and pressing them up to safety.  DL is moving a weight that has them trapped.  BP is freeing myself to get to them, etc.

Goofy perhaps, but having a mental image/scenario triggering urgency works for me.  At 45, "looking good" as motivation for not quitting on the last rep doesn't cut it.  

I don't think there is anything goofy at all about that. It is a good way to motivate yourself.