Does motivation come from inside or outside yourself?

For me.. it was an experience.. I was ill and I got better.. so it was in a way an outside factor that made me think.. but the urge to help other people who are sick and bedridden .. also was a desire that came from the inside.. My illness made me to become a lot more understanding and compassionate towards other people.. but I guess it was my inner motivation combined with what I myself had experienced that made me decide.. I kick my career in the butt and become a health care worker.. because i have walked 7 miles in the boots of those people so I can relate to them better than I could if I had never been bedridden for 5 months.. so in my case.. it was first my illness.. then my inner voice to use my compassion and I also knew better how to treat people who are ill.. they all want to be treated with dignity.. nobody wants pity.. but we all want compassion...xx I believe it's a mixture often of both.. inside and outside circumstances.. You may see something.. and that might be the first motivation.. the second motivation comes from the inside.. maybe that goes for people who join the police force, or become fire fighters... etc.. and in many other jobs...also in the arts.. creative jobs..

I think that many of us (myself included) seek motivation from outside sources such as music, mid altering substances, or other people. These things and other outside sources make one dependent on others and other things in order to move around in life, which is no good in my opinion. I think the read, true motivation comes from the self that is underneath all the thoughts and feeling we experience which actually hinder us and sometimes sap our motivation.

When you think about a time that you had to do something you didn't particularly want to do and felt you didn't have the physical energy until you listened to a certain song and suddenly you found the power to accomplish the task you realize that a good deal of our perceived weakness is in the mind. If outside things can motivate us then outside things can also slow us down. I think that the thing to work on is motivation from within, and maybe not so much motivation as realization- that mind can overcome most of what we perceive to be holding us back in the form of tiredness or lethargy, or even depression.

Yes it can be done. Takes alot of will power, being honest and looking into your mind, body and soul. If you feel that you have the ability or for financial reason there is no other way for you to go then you must search all avenues of your thoughts and emotions to find out what is really the root cause of your being in a state of depression. (An ofcourse this is where you must be very honest with yourself). Then once you find the root cause, you must be able to make a list of alternative solutions that you will have to choose alone and with hope that your will make the right choice. Always try to see what the light at the end of the tunnel will be. Good or bad. Now with the knowledge of the root cause you will do what is known as behaviour modification to rid yourself of the root cause and work at getting on track with the choice that you made so that you can live a quality life. Best of luck Clinical Psychiatrist, France

We are born with an urge to be motivated, we have energy in us that needs to come out. We feel unnatural and unhealthy when we are not motivated. The 'outside' can encourage us. As social animals we thrive on love, friendship, encouragement, and of course, competition from others. Others can deliberately knock our motivation down, or for various reasons we may not feel comfortable around them, affecting our motivation in ourselves. Sometimes, no one is there at all, and we can turn into loners and become depressed. However, for self-preservation, we can develop a strong sense of self-belief and discipline to keep as much motivation going as possible so as to get the most happiness out of life. I think that ultimate motivation comes when you are in love...procreation is behind it (even if we don't won't children, we are designed to find a mate)...we are designed to struggle intensely when we are alone and in isolation, otherwise our species would eventually die.

I think motivation comes from inside. I can't think of any people in my life right now that motivate me.

IMHO, stimuli are external, motivations are internal even if they seem otherwise. A stimulus motivates, but motivation may reside even in the absence of such stimulus.Notice that external motive, such as money, has its internal counterpart, the love of money.The latter motivate people to do what they do, in the usual or in the extreme sense.

Motivation is always from inside.

A little bit of both. You know yourself that you have to do something, or get something done. You may procrastinate and someone else just might do the trick and get you moving in the right direction. A good swift kick in the pants helps! :)

Both. One can benefit from self-motivation, but motivation from others can give that extra boost.

Most of my motivation comes from my screaming children.