RSColonel_131st, you stud you! Yeah, being in a relationship can help (or hurt) for sure, when you're both on the same page. I've never been as driven in life as my better half, so I try to feed off of that motivation (it's always been this way).
Yup, clothes are the biggest indicator of where you are, IMO. We have closet and attic containers full of clothes from years ago, all the way back to high school (either nicer stuff we couldn't part with or knowing they would one day be future milestone clothes).