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My extreme sense of perfectionism is what motivates me. Sometimes it is that same perfectionism that can hurt me as well. I constantly am striving to be better and the people around me proud. Anytime I feel like I let those around me down, it is the most extreme feeling of failure. My motivation is to stay as far away from that as possible. This applies to most things in my life like sports, college, my career choices, and school work. I hate to disappoint teachers, family, friends, relatives, coaches, which in turn, make me disappointed in myself.

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Being the best version of myself motivates me.  I always want to achieve the goals I have set for myself with everything I do. I set goals in sports, school, and my future.

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Similar to what other people said, my largest motivator right now is moving forward with my life by pursuing a college education. Motivations constantly change once an accomplishment is achieved. After I achieve the accomplishment of a college education, I will then form a new motivator to allow me to accomplish my next goal.

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My biggest motivation is completing my goals. Once I set a goal in my head, I do everything I can to complete it. Having a reward like a medal or award is obviously super motivating, however I've learned that I don't need something like that to feel fulfilled. In group or team activities, I'm motivated to push my hardest for others so we can do the best together. Also, there are certain coaches who help me push further, and I really like having those people test my limits so I can be at the top of my game. I don't work for compliments, I'm at the point in my life where I can pat myself on the back and have enough self-confidence to know that I did something well.

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Retirement. Really looking forward to being done with all this life and adulting stuff. After putting what's left of my paycheck after the government get their hands on it in a safe place for 50 years it will be nice to do nothing.

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The only thing at this point in my high school career that can motivate me to get good grades is wanting to get into college. I work hard to fill my transcripts with high grades and standardized test scores because they will determine the entirety of the next four years of my life. The choices we've made in the past keep us from moving forward taking place.

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Now, my biggest motivation is myself, but this wasn't always the case. I can be competitive and was more so growing up. Winning was a large part of my motivation then. Now, I simply wish to be better at anything I do. I have becoming increasingly self-motivated, trying new things, pushing myself, and learning more.

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I am motivated by sharpening my pencil. It means I have been working and it means I must continue to work. Its a cycle that keeps going and therefore keeps me going.

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To do my best work I have to give myself rewards. Whenever I do some really good work for a certain amount of time I reward myself by taking a break to watch a show or something like that. I am also motivated by the feeling that I get once the thing is done. This applies especially during working out because I know that after the workout I'm going to feel a sense of accomplishment and feel good about myself. That feeling motivates me to start the workout in the first place and to finish it because I know that feeling is coming at the end.

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Success pushes me to do my best work. I always want to succeed, on the field, in the classroom, and at home. In sports, I want to win, because it makes you feel good about yourself; all of your hard work pays off when you beat a good team or wear a medal around your neck. In the classroom, my own expectations motivate me. I want a good grade in a class and to receive recognition for that grade. At home, my parents expectations and thoughts about me push me to succeed. I don't want to disappoint my parents, I want them to always think the best of me.

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I am motivated by the idea that something is difficult to accomplish or complete. While medals or compliments are a nice bonus, I don't use them as my reasoning to try my hardest. I love having something before me that is challenging and then I try my best, whether I fail or not. Success is a huge motivator, but I find that failure also is because even if I fail once or twice, that doesn't mean I won't ever be able to succeed at some point.

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Like Ellie, I also seek the approval of my teachers and other elders who I look up to. For example, I put my best effort into sports so that I can impress my coaches and prove to them that I am worthy of a certain position or spot in a relay race. I believe finding that one person who inspires you can help motivate you to do your best. Additionally, medals and rewards are not that important to me and have minimal impact on my motivation.

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I suppose my greatest motivator presently is my desire to get accepted into a decent college. That's probably the main reason why I come here every day. That and societal expectations. Also I agree with Ned that retirement is a pretty good motivator.

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My biggest motivation at this point in my life is getting into college so I can set myself up for success. I try to set small goals for myself along the way in order to do this so I don't get overwhelmed or stressed. Overall, preparing for the future gives me things to look forward to and a reason to push myself to be the best version of me. In the end, I think it will be very rewarding to look back on my life and be glad that I worked hard to pursue personal goals .

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Honestly, I do not know where my motivation stems from. In sports, I just grew up with coaches who wanted us to do our best and have fun while doing it. For school, I have just always been aware of time management and getting my work done. It is hard to say where these stem from when they were put upon me at a young age. My best guess would be that my motivation comes from my parents. They taught me these things and I have just stood by them.

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My parents are my biggest motivation because I always want to make them proud and happy. They have both had tough lives, so I would do anything to bring them happiness. In sports, competition inspires me to do my best and fight for a spot. I am always inspired with my academics, but it is kind of a bad thing because I expect too much out of myself. College is the biggest motivation for me because I want to make the best future for myself as possible.

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In this scene from Kung Fu Panda, Po can only reach a full split if cookies are the reward.
In my life, there are certain teachers that I feel inclined to produce my best work for. I am motivated to impress teachers who are not quick to hand out compliments, which makes their validation meaningful (like Mr. Jarrett).
What is your biggest motivation? What reward or inspiration leads you to your best performance (in sports, academics, or any other activity)? Do you work for compliments? acceptance into your dream college? a medal?