External motivation is always temporary.
When external stimuli — money, grades, praise, or threats — begin to replace internal meaning, the brain stops valuing the process itself.
Objectification — when we see ourselves as tools for achieving goals — undermines our basic psychological need for subjectivity. And the sense of freedom in our actions is not a luxury; it’s something critically important for life.
It takes just one thing: removing the element of choice. Instead of “I can go for a run today, do some yoga, or ride my bike,” it becomes: “I have to go to the gym because I paid for it.”
And that’s when internal resistance arises. Because every “I have to” crashes into the unanswered question: “Why?”
Sure, doing what you “have to” might seem easier in the short term. But in the long run, questions like “why am I doing this?” always catch up with us. And, importantly — they don’t just make it harder to move forward. They sabotage our efforts, and rightfully so, when those efforts have lost connection to personal meaning.