What externally motivates you to be a better you?

Losing weight
1) Never actually believing it possible, I ran into an ex-boyfriend about a year ago, on Pier 39. He was with his fiancee, I was with someone destined to be my next ex-boyfriend. It was damp (=frizzy hair), we had been eating ice cream for dinner (=baggy clothes) and I hadn't been expecting to see anyone I really wanted to impress (=no makeup). If I had been thinner, this would not have bothered me at all. Should there ever be a next time, I want to be ready.

Doing volunteer work
1) more and more of my friends are having babies. I understand the motivation, mostly. Those who don't just want to have someone in their lives who has to love them want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to bring life into the world and nurture it, yadda yadda yadda. Out of a deep and abiding sense of guilt over my self-indulgent lifestyle, I volunteer. It's still about me, but at least someone else benefits too. And you can be pretty sure that anyone else who is volunteering is a very nice person. This is a great place to meet men. Yes, there are cute guys who do volunteer work.

Donating
1) It's easier to say yes and get that phone call over in 5 minutes than spend 10 minutes explaining why you can't spare $10 $20 $30 to feed the children/fund the police/help the homeless.