What Is External Motivation?

"External motivation" means that your motivation to attain your goal comes from a source outside yourself.

• Sample Goal: I will make a 3.5 GPA in college so that my parents will buy me a car.

It's okay to be externally motivated by such things as getting higher grades, praise from your parents, or earning more money. However, it will be harder for you to stay highly motivated in the areas where you only have extrinsic reasons for being in those situations.

Performing tasks to look good for others or to please your parents can be difficult to maintain. Constantly using external motivation when you are confronted with difficult tasks requires a great deal of effort.

Now let's look at internal motivation and how much more effective that can be in increasing your motivation.