20 Journal Prompts to Begin Alleviating Doubt and Create Self-Awareness and Calm
Questions and reflections to inspire your journal entries for a happy and focused life.
A few years ago, I would never have thought that I would be writing blogs and even building memberships around the topic of journaling.
My mum even still thinks that I am just ‘keeping a diary. However, it’s become way more than that.
It’s become a lifeline: a place to dream, to brainstorm, to shine a light into the darkness. It’s become a place to help to keep me accountable to myself, to uncover my gifts, and to express my love and gratitude to myself and the world around me.
Journaling has been shown to be beneficial on many levels. As noted in this article from Positive Psychology:
“There is a ton of evidence out there on the outcomes of journal writing therapy, and overall this evidence points to its effectiveness in helping people identify and accept their emotions, manage their stress, and ease the symptoms of mental illness.
“It has even been shown to impact physical well-being; avid journal writer and journalist Michael Grothaus notes that there are studies suggesting journaling can strengthen the immune system, drop blood pressure, help you sleep better, and generally keep you healthier (2015).”
However, a lot of people struggle when they sit down with their journals, with a blank mind and facing a blank page. For this reason, I wanted to share a list of 20 journaling prompts to help anyone struggling to get going with their journaling practice.
- Write down 5 things that have made you smile in the last week.
- What’s one new thing that you would like to invite into your life this month? (Money? Love? A job?)
- Who is someone who you admire greatly and why?
- Imagine it’s five years in the future. Where are you and what are you doing?
- Where was your favourite holiday/vacation in the last five years, and why?
- Write down a special memory that you cherish.
- Imagine you have been given $100,000. Write out in present tense how you will spend it.
- Give yourself a time limit of 3 minutes and in that time write anything that comes to mind.
- Look out of the closest window (if you are inside). Notice the different colours in your vision, and write down the different things those colours remind you of.
- What’s one thing (physical, mental or emotional) that you know you need to eliminate from your life?
- Write an account of the perfect vacation, as if you are experiencing it now.
- Write a list of 5 things that you want to manifest in your life as if you have already received them. Begin each statement with “I am so happy and grateful now that…”.
- What’s one fear that you want to get over in your life?
- What 3 things would you like to gift to yourself? How and when are you going to make that happen?
- What are 3 things that you are really good at? (Being kind? Offering advice? A particular skill? Teaching a skill?)
- What are your 3 top core values and how do they show up in your life right now?
- Imagine you have an empty room. What will you furnish it with? How will you paint it and light it? What will you do when you are in this room?
- Write about a challenging time in your life and the valuable lessons and changes you have made as a result of experiencing it.
- If you are not in your dream job/business, what would it be and how would you spend your days while working in it?
- Write about a party/celebration that you would like to throw. Where would it be held, what would you be celebrating, who would attend (anyone at all, celebrities included), what music, food, and decorations would there be? No expenses were spared.
If you have any revelations while journaling on any of these prompts, feel free to share them with me.
And, in the meantime, enjoy your journaling!
The biggest challenge can be creating a regular habit of journaling, and this is something I love to help people with. If you would like to gain access to my next free journaling challenge, then I invite you to join my mailing list to get notified of when it’s happening.
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