Two studies investigated the impact of temporal comparison direction on motivation. In Experiment 1, participants generated a greater number of downward motivating temporal comparisons than upward motivating temporal comparisons. In Experiment 2, participants forced to make a downward temporal comparison in the domain of health and fitness experienced an increase in motivation to improve their exercise and eating habits, whereas those forced to make an upward temporal comparison reported no change in health motivation. Additionally, participants rated positive health and fitness outcomes as more likely to happen in the future than negative outcomes. The fact that participants were motivated by unsuccessful past selves but expect success in their future suggests that downward temporal comparisons increase motivation by highlighting the implied upward trajectory of performance from the past to the present.