Recently, I started journaling. I have always enjoyed writing and for me, putting my thoughts to paper has been great for self reflection, goal setting, and overall mental health. I’m sharing some easy ways to get started journaling and 10 journal prompts for self discovery and reflection.
Why journal?
Writing in a journal has been shown to be an effective way to organize one’s thoughts and clear the mental clutter. Given the fact that we have been living in a pandemic, social distancing, homeschooling, working from home, etc. many of us are feeling the stress and burnout.
Journaling can be a great resource for helping one recognize their feelings if they tend to bury them (ahem, me!), cope with anxiety or depression and aid in personal development and setting goals. It’s a safe space where you can have a little check in with yourself daily and may also be useful in helping recognize any patterns.
Tips to get started
1.) Get a journal. You don’t need anything fancy, a simple notebook is just fine or you can choose from several pretty ones on Amazon.
2.) Write! You can start with just brain dumping where you basically just write whatever is on your mind. For me, I sometimes find that blank page intimidating and I like to start with some journal prompts. (See below). However you start, just write.
3.) Be consistent. Make it a habit . Try to do it at the same time each day. And if you a miss a day, or 2 or 5, don’t beat yourself up. Just pick up the pen and write again. Eventually, the more you do it, it will become second nature.
4.) Make it your own. You can draw, add photos, do whatever you want. It’s just for you. The main thing is to be honest with yourself.
Here are 10 journal prompts for self discovery and reflection
1.) What are my top strengths?
2.) What is something I thought I couldn’t do but did anyway?
3.) What does my ideal life look like? How can I achieve it?
4.) Top 5 short and long term goals.
5.) Write about something that’s been weighing heavy on you or causing worry.
6.) What made me feel good today?
7.) If my body could talk it would say…
8.) Write a list – bucket list, books you want to read, places you want to visit, etc.
9.)How do you feel right now? Why do you think you feel that way?
10.) What’s something I need to let go of that’s holding me back?
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