What is Internal Locus of Value? The Foundation of Psychological Freedom

BY NICOLE LAU

The Psychology of Internal Locus: Why Most Suffering is Optional

Most psychological suffering is optional. Not all - trauma, neurobiological illness, oppression are real and not your fault. But the suffering from rejection, criticism, failure, not being liked, not being enough? That's optional. And it's optional because of one thing: where you locate your value.

This is the foundation. Everything else builds on this. If you understand this one concept, you understand why some people are resilient and others fragile, why some people are free and others trapped, why some people suffer unnecessarily and others don't. This is the key to psychological freedom.

What is Locus of Value?

Locus of value is where you locate your worth as a person. It's the answer to the question: "What makes me valuable?" And there are only two possible locations: internal or external.

Internal locus of value means your worth is inherent, unconditional, not dependent on anything outside yourself. You are valuable because you exist. Your worth is a constant, like your heartbeat. It doesn't fluctuate based on performance, approval, achievement, appearance, or anything else. It just IS.

External locus of value means your worth is conditional, dependent on things outside yourself. You are valuable IF you achieve, IF you're liked, IF you're attractive, IF you're successful, IF you're perfect. Your worth fluctuates constantly based on external feedback. It's unstable, fragile, always at risk.

This is not about self-esteem (how much you value yourself). This is about WHERE you locate the source of that value. Two people can both have high self-esteem, but one has it because they're internally sourced ("I'm inherently valuable") and the other because they're externally validated ("I'm valuable because I'm successful"). The first is stable. The second is fragile.

Why This Matters: The Value Vacuum

Here's why locus of value is the foundation of psychological suffering: When your value is externally sourced, you experience a value vacuum every time that external source is withdrawn.

Imagine your worth comes from being liked. Someone rejects you. Suddenly, you feel worthless. Not just sad (that's normal), but WORTHLESS. Like you have no value as a person. That's the value vacuum. The external source of your worth disappeared, and you're left with nothing.

Now imagine your worth is internal. Someone rejects you. You feel sad, disappointed, maybe hurt. But you don't feel worthless. Your value didn't disappear because it was never dependent on them in the first place. You're still you. Still inherently valuable. The rejection hurts, but it doesn't create a vacuum.

This is the difference. This is why internal locus prevents most psychological suffering. Not because you don't feel pain (you do), but because you don't experience the value vacuum that turns normal pain into existential crisis.

What Internal Locus Looks Like

Internal locus of value shows up in specific ways:

Validation is optional, not necessary. You appreciate approval but don't need it. Compliments are nice, but your worth doesn't depend on them. Criticism hurts, but it doesn't destroy you. You can receive feedback without your entire sense of self collapsing.

Failure doesn't equal worthlessness. You can fail at something without feeling like a failure as a person. You can make mistakes without thinking you ARE a mistake. Performance and personhood are separate. You can be bad at something and still be inherently valuable.

Relationships are chosen, not needed for worth. You want connection, but you don't need it to feel valuable. You can be alone without feeling worthless. You can be rejected without feeling like you have no value. Relationships enhance your life but don't define your worth.

You can rest without achieving. You don't have to constantly prove your value through productivity. You can take breaks, relax, do nothing, and still feel worthy. Your worth isn't earned through achievement; it's inherent.

You have stable self-concept. Your sense of who you are doesn't fluctuate wildly based on external feedback. You know yourself. You trust yourself. You don't need constant reassurance that you're okay. You just know you are.

What External Locus Looks Like

External locus of value shows up differently:

Validation is necessary, not optional. You NEED approval to feel okay. Without it, you feel worthless. Compliments are desperately sought. Criticism is devastating. Your mood depends entirely on how others respond to you.

Failure equals worthlessness. When you fail at something, you feel like a failure as a person. Mistakes mean you're fundamentally flawed. Performance and personhood are fused. If you're not good at something, you're not good, period.

Relationships are needed for worth. You can't feel valuable alone. Rejection feels like proof you're worthless. Being single feels like being defective. You need someone to choose you to feel like you have value. Relationships aren't just wanted; they're existentially necessary.

You can't rest without guilt. Resting feels like losing value. You have to constantly achieve to maintain worth. Productivity equals worthiness. If you're not doing something, you're not being something. Your value is earned, not inherent.

You have unstable self-concept. Your sense of who you are changes constantly based on feedback. One compliment and you feel amazing. One criticism and you feel terrible. You don't know who you are without external mirrors telling you.

The Good News: Locus is Learned

Here's the most important thing: Internal locus of value is learned, not innate. You weren't born with external locus. You learned it. And what's learned can be unlearned. What's conditioned can be reconditioned.

Most of us learned external locus in childhood. We learned our value was conditional: "I'm valuable IF I'm good, IF I achieve, IF I make my parents happy, IF I don't cause problems." We learned to perform for approval. We learned to earn our worth. We learned our value was something outside ourselves that we had to constantly secure.

But we can learn differently. We can build internal locus. We can relocate our value from external to internal. We can shift from conditional worth to inherent worth. This is the work. This is the path to psychological freedom.

Why This is the Foundation

Everything else in this series builds on this concept. Depression as value vacuum. Anxiety as fear of value loss. Codependency as externalized self. People-pleasing as worth-seeking. Perfectionism as conditional value. All of it traces back to locus of value.

If you understand this - really understand it, not just intellectually but experientially - you understand the root cause of most psychological suffering. And if you understand the root cause, you can address it at the source instead of just managing symptoms.

This is not positive thinking. This is not self-help platitudes. This is structural psychology. This is understanding the architecture of suffering and the architecture of freedom. This is the foundation.

In the next essay, we'll explore the core distinction between internal and external locus in depth. We'll look at the subtle differences, the common confusions, the nuances that matter. But for now, just sit with this question:

Where do you locate your value? Inside or outside?

Your answer determines everything.

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Next: Internal vs External Locus - The Core Distinction That Changes Everything

The Psychology of Internal Locus series explores why most psychological suffering is optional and how internal locus of value prevents it at the root cause.

— Nicole Lau, 2026