Journal Prompts to Connect with Yourself
Overview
Life can take us in many directions during our day, week, and year overall. Everyday we experience so many different things that we can forget or just simply not take time to process them. When we are unable to process things, especially our emotions, they get stuck in our body thus causing disease, physical ailments, and other impacts that can derail our day. Journaling can be a great way for us to give ourselves time, space, and permission to process without judgment. Below are some journal prompts that can help you to identify your body’s needs and figure out how to best respond to them.
Journal Prompts
Feeling disconnected from yourself?
What has been coming up for me lately that I have not been able to take time for? Am I experiencing anything that I have not processed?
What areas of my life do I have boundaries and what areas in my life do I feel like I need them? How am I showing up for myself?
What do I feel the least excited about in my life and why? Is there anything that can be done to change that?
What is my current self care routine? Am I practicing it regularly? What is missing that would make self-care feel more enriching for me?
Feeling overwhelmed?
What are my beliefs around how I should respond to and show up in life? Do I have unrealistic or harmful ideas about what it means to show up?
What are my top 2 priorities? What am I currently doing for those priorities? What do I need to let go of to better focus my time, energy, and attention to what matters most to me right now?
What is currently in my control? What do I feel is in my control but actually is not? What am I not taking control of that I should?
What is something that I am holding on to that I need to let go over?
Feeling anxious?
What are the current stories that are running through my head about the future? What is the best that can happen in each situation?
Describe your current surroundings in detail. What is your favorite part of this moment?
What has made me feel at ease in the past? In what ways can I incorporate those practices into this moment to feel less anxious?
What am I afraid of? How can I take steps to minimize this fear?
Feeling happy and want to capture your joy?
What are 3 things that I love right now? Why did I choose those things?
Describe your favorite moment from the last 2 weeks in detail. Why did you choose this moment?
Where do I feel happiness and joy in my body? Describe the feeling and area in detail.
What is something that has made me smile or laugh lately? How does laughing make me feel?
Just looking to write about something?
Set a timer for 5 minutes and write down everything that comes to mind.
Set a 5 minute timer and visualize a place in your mind that makes you feel safe, held, and secure. After the 5 minutes, set another 5 minute timer and write down the description of this place in detail.
If you could write a short story, what would it be about? Set a 10 minute timer and see how far you can get developing your characters, plot, and climax of the story.
What is your fondest childhood memory? If you could rewrite it, how would it look? Why did you change the things that you did?
if you could write a letter to the past, present, and future versions of you what would they say and how would they differ? Why?
Benefits
Journaling can be a powerful tool to help us build our mindfulness practice while also exercising our mind-body-spirit connection. By taking time to journal, we may experience:
Decreased anxiety
Sharpened focus
Elevated present moment awareness
Reduced stress
Increased self-awareness
Overall improvement of emotional regulation
Tips
The journal prompts shared are not meant to be an exhaustive list of every type of journal prompt there is but rather serve as a jumping off point to start opening the mind and heart. If this is your first time journaling or you’re looking to enhance the impact, here are some tips to consider:
Find a quiet space and/or block out distractions by using noise cancelling headphones
Have 1 dedicated journal to write in (handwritten is preferred but digital journaling can be powerful too!)
For digital journaling: consider using voice notes to brain dump then listen back to them and take brief notes of your takeaways or themes that came up
Use blue ink for memorization and manifestation
Use purple ink for reflection, subconscious exploration, and dreams
Do a breathing exercise or meditate beforehand to quiet the mind and connect with the senses
Use a timer (5-10 minutes is usually perfect)
Have a focus or specific prompt if you have a hard time getting started or focusing
Takeaways
The best part about journaling is being able to look back on your prior posts/pages to see trends, ongoing themes, or areas where you may need to pay a little more attention or spend more time. Having knowledge of what we are experiencing can be a great catalyst for taking action and healing the parts of ourselves that need attention or work. If you are trying to incorporate journaling into your life more, consider choosing 1 prompt to focus on per week or simply complete a brain dump weekly with an overall reflection at the end of the month! Either way, simply taking time to be in the present moment will always help us move easier through our day and overall life.
