Picture a moment in your distant future. You are holding a digital version of your brain in your hands, analyzing its various thoughts and ideas. You can scrutinize the details and identify thoughts that make you restless and stressed.
Sounds cool, right? What if we told you there was a way you could do that in this era?
Journaling is a convenient way to help you understand and empathize with yourself. You can dissect your emotions, goals, ambitions, and priorities; while assessing your strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps write about how someone or something makes you feel and how you plan on coping.
It’s a safe space where you can have a non-judgemental conversation with the person who should mean the most to you: yourself.
But how do we incorporate journaling into our daily routine? What do we do when we run out of ideas? What are journaling prompts, and how can we use them for self-improvement?
We will be addressing all these questions in this article. So, without further ado, let’s get into it!
What Are Journaling Prompts
When you start journaling as a beginner, you will likely run out of ideas to write about after a while. It’s normal to feel dejected and discontinue journaling in a case like this.
That is why journal prompts exist: to inspire you by offering a new perspective that you had not thought of before. So, what are journaling prompts?
Much like a writing prompt, a journaling prompt consists of a question or statement that helps spark an idea when you have none. They help us focus on one particular theme at a time. With their help, we can limit our wavering attention span to one subject.
With journaling prompts, it takes seconds to feel the mental gears turning. What are journaling prompts types?
Journaling prompts can be in the form of different challenges, such as the 30-day Journaling Challenge. These generally cover a variety of themes. Or they can target various aspects of our lives that we want to work on. These include:
- Self-discovery
- Self-love
- Work and Career
- Goal and Inspirations
- Love and Relationships
- Gratitude
- Self-reflection and personal growth
- Travel
And the list goes on!
How Do You Use Journaling Prompts?
Much like diary-writing, the process of journaling is different for every individual. There are no rules that you need to follow. It is as unique as our personality and preferences.
However, when we plan on journaling for self-improvement, it can be helpful to follow a routine. Here is the Mindful Page’s way of journaling by using prompts.
1. Try Free Writing
A great way to get out of writer’s block is to not care too much about the final product. Too often, we fixate on how a piece of writing will come out after we have finished it. We start editing it before we’ve even written it.
This can be a recipe for frustration sometimes. Remember: a passage of bad writing is still better than a blank page. When you feel stuck, free writing can easily identify what is troubling you the most.
What is Free Writing?
Free writing is a technique that involves continuous writing for a set period. You need to have zero regard for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, or organization of ideas. Your only goal is the consistent motion of your fingers typing on the keyboard or your pen gliding across a notebook.
How Long Should You Free Write?
Anywhere between 5 to 15 minutes is good. Set up a timer for a goal that seems convenient, and just keep writing.
Who Do We Recommend This For?
You can skip this step if you know what prompt you want to pursue. But if your thoughts are too confusing to be decipherable, free writing can help you navigate. You will have clarity on what is bothering you soon. Then, you can move on to the next step.
2. Decide the Overall Theme
We have listed a broad spectrum of journaling prompts above. Which one interests you? Is it self-discovery or self-love? Does it incline more towards goals and aspirations?
There is a journaling prompt available for every theme you can think of. Of course, some subjects can be more multifaceted than others. It is up to you how you want to categorize your thoughts and feelings.
Once you have done that, it’s time to move on to the next step.
3. Select a Prompt
There are numerous resources that you can use when searching for journaling prompts. The most obvious one is Google, but we have mentioned a couple more in the How Do I Find Journal Prompts section.
You can skim through multiple prompts until you find one that fits. You will feel the inspiration as you see it. This is your cue to set everything aside and move on to the next step.
4. Start Writing
That is pretty self-explanatory. You write about how you feel when you read the prompt. For example,
“What is something I love about myself?”
This classifies as a self-discovery or self-love prompt. You can write about general traits that you appreciate in yourself. This can include your compassion, creativity, sense of humor, personality, and mindset.
One of the best parts about prompts like these is that everyone interprets them differently. Each individual will have a unique perspective on themselves. They might write about anything like their nature, character, or even appearance.
And guess what? There are no wrong answers. Each one is valid and helpful.
5. Set It Aside for Now
You know how when you read something repeatedly, it loses its charm and meaning? You might have a eureka moment when you’re writing it. But when you read it 50 times while editing, even a good paragraph may seem too monotonous.
That is when you know you have to set it aside. The same rule applies to journaling. You can set your answer aside for a specific period. This period could be weeks, months, or even years. It’s up to you.
6. Self Reflect
Pulling up the previous answers to a prompt makes sense if you’re looking at journaling as a long-term activity. This will help you compare and judge your progress. It can tell you how your personality and perspectives have evolved.
For example, “What is something that you currently struggle with?”
It might be that in 2020 you were struggling with low self-esteem and loneliness because of the worldwide lockdown during covid-19. But perhaps, you’ve worked on yourself. The doubts that you had during those times no longer influence you. Maybe your current struggle is more career related.
This makes you realize the fleeting nature of most problems. You’ll understand that most issues are merely behavioral patterns that can change through mindful activism.
Prompt journaling is a great way to target what you need to be mindful of.
7. Use this Awareness to Improve Your Life
After journaling for a while, you will have quick answers to questions you may have struggled with previously. For example:
“What is something that makes you angry?”
Perhaps your answer is that you do not like it when people joke about certain aspects of your appearance. Now that you are aware, your brain will not automatically trigger the fight or flight response the next time it happens.
After this identification of potential triggers, maybe your next prompt could be:
“What is something I need to work on?”
Maybe your loved ones do not know that certain jokes are hurtful. In that case, the answer could be effective communication or asserting boundaries. The next time that happens, instead of feeling resentment, perhaps you could try saying, “I do not like it when you comment about my weight.”
If it were not for prompt journaling, such self-actualization would be this easy. But now, you can make effective changes, and it only takes 10-15 minutes daily.
How Do I Find Journal Prompts?
There are numerous places where you can find journal prompts. The most popular ones include:
- Books with journaling prompts
- Create your own prompts
Tip: When using social media, follow the journaling prompts hashtag to receive prompts in your feed automatically.
Journaling Prompts for Beginners
Here are some journal prompts that you can use as a beginner:
Self-Reflection
- Is there any part of yourself that you find difficult to accept? How can you change that?
- What do you love most about yourself? What are some aspects you want to improve?
- What are three traits you want to embody in the next couple of years?
Personal Growth and Life Goals
- You can go back in time and talk to your teenage self. What is something you’d like to say?
- What is something you look forward to in the future?
- List 3 goals that you want to achieve. What can you do to fulfill them?
Work and Career
- Are you satisfied with your current job? Does the work fulfill you financially and emotionally?
- What are three things you can do to improve your work performance?
- Where do you see yourself in the next ten years?
Love and Relationships:
- What makes you feel loved?
- What are some traits you like in your significant other?
- What is the most valuable lesson you learned from a past relationship?
Best Books With Journaling Prompts
Books with journaling prompts can be a great way to get inspired. You can fill the pages with your ideas while enjoying the warmth of morning coffee.
But which books have journaling prompts? Well, here is a list of our top recommendations:
Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith
If you are afraid of ruining the pages with poorly crafted sentences or ineffective handwriting, this book is the perfect way to overcome the fear.
Referred to as “the coolest journal you’ll ever see” by Buzzfeed, the book is a series of creative and unique prompts to make journaling more fun and less chore-like.
There are pages that you have to poke holes into, make illustrations with coffee stains, color outside the images provided, and much more.
Let It Out: A Journey Through Journaling by Katie Dalebout
Filled with journaling exercises, prompts, and techniques, the book explores numerous themes. These include personal life, relationships, career, and much more.
From lighthearted expression to transformative self-discovery, it has all the elements that make this journal a riveting journey while still being easy to complete. The thought-provoking questions will make you sigh while you confess the truth to yourself.
Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration by Meera Lee Patel
“…an inspiring, motivating, eye-opening and thought-provoking journal which may potentially change your life”, raved an Amazon reviewer, and we cannot agree more!
Filled with open-ended prompts, this book delves deep into the themes of life and the dreams that sustain it. This book is based on the idea that anything is possible if you can understand yourself and the nature of your goals and aspirations.
Overall, a great read for self-awareness and self-actualization.
Final Thoughts
“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn”, wrote Anne Frank in The Diary of a Young Girl.
There’s a reason why this girl sought solace in journal writing while she was in hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. While you might not be under similar circumstances, you can still utilize journaling to your advantage.
So, what are journaling prompts? They are merely an idea you can use to spark your creativity when feeling stuck.
Through mental clarity, self-awareness, and the setting of goals and their acquisition, life can begin to feel better. Here’s to a stable future, made better by emotional regulation through writing.
If you would like to learn more about self-improvement through writing and journaling, do not forget to check out our other blog posts:
