57 Self-Discovery Journal Prompts
The best ideas for what to write in your journal.
Getty If you're someone who's into journaling, you might find yourself having trouble finding prompts. The problem with everyday journaling is the fact that you might have some trouble finding writing prompts that inspire you to write more.
In order to unleash all of your inner thoughts, you must first ask yourself, Who am I? These self-discovery journal prompts can help you figure that out.
Putting your thoughts and ideas on paper is a great way to clear your mind. Every day, you might come across a problem or issue that you feel the need to elaborate on. Our short-term thoughts reside in a mind for a short period of time before we forget them.
It's important to make sure to write as much as possible during these times because writing and reading your own thoughts help you learn and retain as much information as possible. It’s a crucial step in learning how to make decisions and creating your own ideas (which is a very special skill!)
So when you feel yourself getting curious, frustrated, or confused, write down your feelings. Remember there’s nothing more tragic than lost knowledge.
Once you're able to dig deep into your repressed thoughts, you will be able to understand yourself better which can give you some perspective. When you read notes you wrote from different stages and situations in your life, it helps you identify with the person under all of the emotions in the notes.
Life is a journey and the emotions we feel during it are just waves that come and go. The important part about journaling is getting to understand this person behind the emotion.
This is called what is considered self-discovery.
Self-discovery is also a key component in self-care. You must be able to identify thoughts and feelings that lay under the surface and prohibit you from learning. The biggest mistake we can make in life is by not learning from being in hard situations. The first step in doing this is to identify your emotions and understanding the role we play in certain situations.
When you do this you can look at things from a full circle perspective, which helps you to make important decisions in the future. Once you finish the final step, the rest is a piece of cake.
No matter what your emotion is, you must write it in order to come up with the solution. Think of self-discovery as a present version of you writing to your future self.
Self-discovery also helps you improve your writing skills by allowing you to express yourself through personal topics. This can cause what is known as "writer's flood" (opposite of writer's block).
Personal questions and stories about one's life can help you write more content more often than usual. There is also a more passionate tone of writing when it comes to self-discovery which is a good learning experience for those who are writers. Passion creates an element of thrill and keeps readers engaged.
So, self-discovery doesn’t just help you sort your emotions, but also helps as a writing practice.
To help you along, we've provided a list of the bestt self-discovery journal prompts to get you inspired. What happens from here is up to you.
1. What is most important to me?
2. Am I happy? What is happiness to me?
3. What are the 15 things I love about myself?
4. Write a letter to the younger you.
5. What’s has been bothering me recently?
6. Write down a list of short-term goals and long-term goals.
7. What are my favorite things to do?
8. Write a list of your favorite quotes you've ever heard in your life.
9.. What would I do if fear didn’t stop me?
10. When do I feel most relaxed?
11. What can I talk about for 20 minutes straight?
12. If I could describe myself with three words, what would they be?
13. What do I value most in life?
14. What is the most dominant emotion in my life right now? Why is this so?
15. What are my most favorite (movie or book) characters? What is it about them that I love?
16. What are my pet peeves?
17. What are ten things in my life right now that make me happy?
18. What is something I’ve always wanted to do?
19. Write a letter to an older you.
20. What am I afraid of?
21. How can I be a calmer person?
22. Where do I want to be in 5 years?
23. What is my dream job? How can I get there?
24. What worries me? How can I cope with or solve my worries?
25. Write down the definition of beauty in your own words: What is beautiful about life? Do I find myself beautiful? Why or why not?
26. What do I dislike?
27. Write the lyrics of a favorite song.
28. What is the meaning of love? How can I be a more loving person to others and to myself?
29. Do I apologize enough? Or too often?
30. What is the meaning of life to me? What are my ultimate goals?
31. Am I simply reacting to life instead of taking my own initiative over life?
32. What is a habit I want to change?
33. What is a new habit I want to adopt into my life?
34. Am I taking care of myself enough? What can I be doing more for self-care?
35. What makes me sad?
36. Who are my role models? What about them do I admire?
37. What are some things I can do now that I couldn’t do before?
38. What is a secret I should confess?
39. What do I consider to be my biggest achievement?
40. What does my ideal day look like?
41. If I could change anything right now, what would it be?
42. What are my five best qualities?
43. What does my dream job look like?
44. What would I do if I had unlimited time and money?
45. When do I feel most confident with myself?
46. What did I learn about myself in the last year?
47. What limiting beliefs do I have that’s making me feel stuck?
48. What can I do to simplify my life?
49. What are the three excuses that I often make?
50. This goal is most important to me because…
51. What’s something I thought I couldn’t do but did anyway?
52. Who is my biggest hero? And why?
53. What would friends say about me?
54. How have I changed in the past three years?
55. What would I tell my best friend when she feels insecure?
56. Am I happy about how I spend my time? What would I change?
57. What does confidence mean to me?
Maatie Kalokoh is a writer who focuses on pop culture, religion and relationship topics.