Why Everyone is Obsessed With Journal Prompts For Self Discovery

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journal prompts for self discovery

 

Why Everyone Is Obsessed With Journal Prompts For Self Discovery

 

Global events have brought a lot of people to the brink of insanity in the past year but it has also allowed many people to take the time to do something they have never wanted or needed to do in the past – that is self-reflect.

Many of us have had to reconsider our life choices up to this point as our careers, finances, and relationships came under scrutiny due to being forced into worldwide isolation.

Journaling is the perfect self-help tool that can help you work through these unusual times and help you gain clarity and direction on your self-discovery journey.

 

Why Journaling?

Journaling has been a hobby of hundreds of thousands for many years but there has been a huge increase in the number of people taking it up as either a creative outlet or as a way to deal with their emotions.

Using journal prompts can help you become a better version of yourself, get to know yourself a whole lot better, discover what is important, and help you create a life you love.

For even more benefits of journaling for Self Improvement read this article.

This article will cover how and why journaling helps you navigate such unprecedented times as we are currently living as well as some inspirational journaling prompts to help you on your path of self-discovery. 

Even if you haven’t quite bought into the idea of journaling yet these suggested questions can be used for self-reflection at any stage of life.

 

Journaling as a Tool to Laying the Groundwork for Self-Expression and Self Awareness 

Being able to adequately express yourself isn’t something that comes naturally to some, or even most of us.

But you need to be able to express yourself and express your wants, needs, and desires, as well as express things you don’t like.

Being able to express yourself is necessary to live an authentic, fulfilling, and healthy life, and to help you create the life of your dreams!

There are three main steps involved in learning to express yourself through journaling.

These steps may not feel natural at first because they are new, but stick with it!

You’ll soon find yourself better able to express yourself on paper and to those around you with confidence.

 

  • Learn to listen to yourself, your emotions, and your intuition. Too often, early in life, we are taught (directly or indirectly) to hide our emotions and put on a smiling face even when we don’t feel like it. It’s time to unlearn all of that. So, the first step is to begin to really feel the emotions that are inside you. Your first instinct may be to mentally run away from those feelings but try not to do that. Feel each emotion, no matter what it is, without any self-judgment. Your emotions are simply what they are, and there aren’t any wrong emotions, only wrong ways that we’ve learned to react to them. So, quiet yourself and allow yourself to feel because you can’t express yourself if you don’t know what you’re feeling.

 

  • Acknowledge whatever you are feeling. Honor those feelings, again with no judgment. By self-validating your feelings, you learn to seek answers from within yourself, rather than always looking outside yourself for solutions. In reality, all we need we already have inside of us. Acknowledging your feelings might seem very frightening at first because you feel vulnerable. That’s okay. That feeling of vulnerability will go away once your mind realizes there isn’t really any need for fear.

 

  • Tune in to how your body reacts to the emotions you are now experiencing. Body awareness is very important in learning to express yourself, as it is one of the best ways to gauge your comfort level. If you tense up in response to an emotion, show your body and brain that everything is going to be okay by doing some deep breathing. Close your eyes, acknowledge the feeling, and then let it go. If a part of your body tenses up, consciously relax it. Use your new awareness to find what works for you in terms of expressing yourself, both emotionally and physically.

 

How Journaling Can Help with Mental Health Issues

Keeping any type of journal will help with improving any mental health issues.

However, if you really want to tackle a specific problem you’re having, it will help to determine the right type of journal to keep.

Keeping a particular kind of journal may work best for your issue.

 

* Boosts Your Mood – If you really want to boost your mood, keeping a gratitude journal is where it’s at. All you have to do is once a day, preferably before bed, write down what you’re grateful for today. It might not seem like much but it’s very powerful for going to sleep and thinking positively about your life.

 

* Increases Your Sense of Well-Being – As you write out your thoughts, you’ll start seeing issues from a new angle just because you’re opening your mind to think about it. This is going to make you feel more capable of dealing with whatever happens.

 

* Lessens Symptoms of Depression – Understand that depression is something different from sadness and that you likely need a counselor. Writing it all down can make it seem less horrific so that you can feel better. Plus, you can look back at days you thought life was “over” and see better days after.

 

* Reduces Anxiety – The problem with anxiety is that it was designed to help us get away from immediate danger. It triggers the “fight or flight” response. If each time you have that anxious feeling you choose to write in your journal how you are feeling and why you’ll start to control it better.

 

* Lowers Avoidance Behaviors – Many people who have mental health issues practice avoidance behaviors such as not going to places that cause them anxiety, or not doing the things they need to do due to how they feel. When you write it out, it helps you get the feelings out but do the thing anyway.

 

* You’ll Sleep Better – Pouring your heart out into a journal is a great way to get things off your chest. However, go to the gratitude journal before sleep and write down what you’re thankful for today and go to sleep thinking of that.

 

* Makes You a Kinder Person – Exploring your own emotional state and accepting your own feelings while you work through what makes you who you are in your journal will make you naturally more empathetic to others. Letting go of judgment of yourself improves your thoughts for others also.

 

* Improves Your Memory – This is almost a situation where you want to say “duh” but it has to be said. Writing down things helps you remember them because you can go back and read them, but also because the act of writing something down enables you to recall it.

 

One thing that can really help you make your journaling work is to learn how to keep one effective.

Make some journaling rules, do it every day to create a habit, and keep it private unless you decide to let your therapist see it or you decide to use it to help others. This is for you and only you for the most part.

 

 

       Present Moment Journal Prompts For Self Discovery

  • What season of life are you in right now?
  • What are your top priorities right now?
  • How do you feel when you first wake up?
  • What thoughts distract you when you’re trying to get to sleep?
  • Do you enjoy your job?
  • How do you spend your spare time?
  • How would you like to spend your spare time?
  • Which aspects of your life are you able to control?
  • What in life are you not able to control? What can you do about that?
  • What three things are the most important to you in life?
  • What brings you Joy?
  • What are you grateful for?
  • What were your biggest lessons from this last year?
  • What are your proudest moments from this last year?
  • How have you stepped out of your comfort zone this year?

 

  •  Personal Growth Journal Prompts 

  • What is the most common negative thought you have about yourself? What would the positive version of it be?
  • Are you as confident as you would like? How can you improve your self-confidence?
  • What do you take for granted?
  • How can you show more gratitude?
  • What did you say yes to recently that you probably should have said no to?
  • Which qualities do you most admire in others that you wish you had yourself?
  • What do you find yourself complaining about the most?
  • What makes you really angry? Why?
  • What topics could you talk all day about?
  • How can you take better care of yourself? How will you make that happen?
  • What did you learn about yourself this last year?
  • What keeps you grounded?
  • How can you step out of your comfort zone more?

 

       Journal Prompts to Improve Your Relationships

  • Which relationships matter to you the most?
  • What do you love most about your spouse? Your children?
  • Who has had the biggest impact on your life to date?
  • Who has disappointed you the most? How did they disappoint you?
  • Which relationships are you happy with?
  • Which relationships are you neglecting?
  • Who do you most enjoy spending time with? Why is that?
  • How do you deal with loneliness?
  • To what extent do you let others control your decisions?
  • What confrontations, if any, are you avoiding?
  • Are there any toxic relationships in your life that you need to get rid of?
  • Which past friendships do you miss the most? Why?
  • Whose opinions do you value the most? Why is that?
  • What qualities do you most admire in others that you wish you had yourself?
  • Who looks up to you the most? Why do you think that is?
  • How can you nurture your relationships going forward?

 

       Dream Big Journal Prompts For Self Discovery

  • If you could have one wish in life what would you wish for?
  • What would you do with your days if money were no object?
  • Which people would you spend more time with? Why?
  • What one place would you visit and why do you want to visit there?
  • What would you do when there?
  • Who would you take with you?
  • Where would you like to live?
  • What books would you love to read?
  • What is the biggest change you would like to make in the world?
  • What can you do to make one of your dreams a reality?
  • What would you like to be remembered for the most?

 

Last Thoughts on Using Journal Prompts for Self Discovery

The action of putting pen to paper is an extraordinarily beneficial way to improve your life.

Journaling is an effortless way to change your life when times seem tough or to find the answers to problems within yourself by using journaling to tap into your unconscious.

Each of us has the answers to every problem already inside of us and journaling is a way to access those answers positively.

It’s amazing how allowing ourselves to be honest and open to our struggles ends up making the answer we’ve been seeking so obvious – it’s all there in black and white.

 

Related Self-Improvement Articles You Will Love

How to Journal for Self Improvement

7 Ways to Navigate Self-Doubt

How to Create Affirmation Cards That Work

 

 

Why Everyone Is Obsessed With Journal Prompts For Self Discovery

 

6 thoughts on “Why Everyone is Obsessed With Journal Prompts For Self Discovery”

  1. Really enjoyed this post since journaling is the reason I started blogging. I’ve started asking myself questions and with writing them down, I can sense my brain aligning me with the answers to the questions I’ve asked. Powerful

  2. I enjoyed reading your writing a lot. Thanks for writing about journaling in such a meaningful and interesting way. Have a great day! 🙂

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