Journal Prompts

For getting to know yourself a little better.

Light: easy to start

1. What are three words a close friend would use to describe you?Write
2. What did you love doing when you were ten?Write
3. What do you do that makes time disappear?Write
4. What is a small thing that always makes your day better?Write
5. Which compliment do you still remember, and why did it land?Write
6. What are you curious about right now?Write
7. What does a perfect ordinary Tuesday look like for you?Write
8. What is something you changed your mind about in the past year?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What do you pretend not to care about?Write
2. When do you feel most like yourself, and when least?Write
3. What are five values you would refuse to give up?Write
4. What do you need to hear more often, and from whom?Write
5. What pattern keeps showing up in your life that you have not looked at closely?Write
6. What part of you do you hide in new situations?Write
7. Whose approval are you still looking for, and why?Write
8. What would you do differently if no one were watching or judging?Write

For being on your own side.

Light: easy to start

1. What is something you like about the way you think?Write
2. Write down three things you handled well this week.Write
3. What is one way you took care of yourself recently?Write
4. What do you enjoy about your own company?Write
5. What are you proud of that nobody else knows about?Write
6. Which part of your routine feels most like kindness to yourself?Write
7. What would you thank your body for today?Write
8. What compliment would you give yourself if you were your own best friend?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What does your inner critic say most often, and whose voice does it sound like?Write
2. What do you believe you have to do to be worth loving?Write
3. Write a letter to yourself on your worst day, from the person who loves you most.Write
4. Where do you hold yourself to a standard you would never apply to anyone else?Write
5. What would change if you treated your needs as being as important as other people's?Write
6. What part of yourself are you still trying to accept?Write
7. When did you stop doing something you loved because of what others thought?Write
8. What does "enough" mean to you, and do you believe you are it?Write

Love, partners and the people closest to you.

Light: easy to start

1. What did your partner, or someone close, do recently that you appreciated?Write
2. When do you feel closest to the people you love?Write
3. What makes you feel cared for: words, time, help, touch or gifts?Write
4. What is a favorite memory with someone important to you?Write
5. What do you want more of in your relationships this month?Write
6. Who do you feel completely yourself around?Write
7. What is a small ritual you share with someone?Write
8. What did you learn about love from a movie, a song or a book?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What do you need in a relationship that you find hard to ask for?Write
2. When someone close hurts you, do you pull away, push harder or try to please?Write
3. What argument keeps coming back, and what is it really about?Write
4. What did your parents' relationship teach you about love?Write
5. Where do you give more than you receive, and why?Write
6. What do you want your partner to understand about you that you have never fully explained?Write
7. What are you avoiding saying to someone you love?Write
8. What does a safe relationship feel like in your body?Write

For the weeks after it ends.

Light: easy to start

1. What do you miss most today: the person, the routine or the future you pictured?Write
2. What did you do today to get through?Write
3. What is one thing you can do this week only for you?Write
4. Who has shown up for you since it ended?Write
5. What are three things you do not miss?Write
6. What would you tell a friend going through exactly this?Write
7. What has been a little easier this week than last week?Write
8. What song, place or habit is yours again now?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What did this relationship give you that you want to keep?Write
2. What did you ignore because you wanted it to work?Write
3. What do you wish you could say to them, knowing you will never send it?Write
4. What part of yourself did you lose in the relationship, and how can you get it back?Write
5. What story do you tell yourself about why it ended? Is there another way to tell it?Write
6. What do you need to forgive, in them or in yourself?Write
7. What will you look for, or refuse, next time?Write
8. Who are you becoming now that you are on your own?Write

Where you come from and what you keep.

Light: easy to start

1. What is a family tradition you love, or would like to start?Write
2. Which family member are you most like, and how?Write
3. What family story still makes you laugh?Write
4. What did your home smell or sound like when you were little?Write
5. Who in your family do you wish you talked to more?Write
6. What does your family do well together?Write
7. What lesson from a grandparent or older relative do you still use?Write
8. What do you want the holidays to feel like this year?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What role did you play in your family growing up: the helper, the peacemaker, the rebel or the quiet one?Write
2. What did you need from your parents that you did not get?Write
3. What family pattern do you want to stop with you?Write
4. What would you say to a parent if you knew they could truly hear it?Write
5. What boundary would make time with family easier for you?Write
6. Which of your family's beliefs have you kept, and which have you let go?Write
7. What do you understand about your parents now that you did not as a child?Write
8. What does family mean to you, apart from who you are related to?Write

The friends you have, lost and want.

Light: easy to start

1. Who is a friend you could call at 2 a.m.?Write
2. What is your favorite memory with a friend?Write
3. Which friend have you not talked to in too long?Write
4. What do your friends come to you for?Write
5. What kind of friend are you on your best days?Write
6. Which new friendship would you like to grow?Write
7. What is a small way to show a friend you care this week?Write
8. Who makes you laugh the hardest, and why?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. Which friendship feels one-sided, and what would you like to do about it?Write
2. Which friendship ended and still stays with you?Write
3. What do you hold back from even your closest friends?Write
4. How do you act when a friend lets you down?Write
5. What do you need from friendships at this point in your life?Write
6. Which friend has watched you change, and what would they say about it?Write
7. What makes it hard for you to make new friends as an adult?Write
8. Who brings out a side of you that you like, and who brings out one you do not?Write

What you do all day, and what it does to you.

Light: easy to start

1. What part of your work did you enjoy this week?Write
2. What did you get done today that you are glad about?Write
3. Who at work makes your day better?Write
4. What task do you keep putting off, and why?Write
5. What skill have you improved in the past year?Write
6. What would make tomorrow's workday 10 percent better?Write
7. What did you learn at work this week?Write
8. When were you most focused this week, and what helped?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. If money were not the issue, what work would you do?Write
2. Where does your sense of worth depend on your job?Write
3. What are you putting up with at work that you would tell a friend not to put up with?Write
4. What does success mean to you, in your words and not your industry's?Write
5. What would you like people at work to know about you?Write
6. Which conversation at work are you avoiding?Write
7. What part of your job drains you that nobody sees?Write
8. Where do you want to be in your work three years from now, and what is the first step?Write

For when you are running on empty.

Light: easy to start

1. What drained you most this week?Write
2. What gave you even a little energy back?Write
3. When did you last have a day with nothing you had to do?Write
4. What is one thing you could take off your plate this week?Write
5. How are you sleeping, eating and moving lately?Write
6. What does rest actually look like for you, beyond just stopping?Write
7. Who notices when you are running on empty?Write
8. What would you do with one free hour tomorrow?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What are you afraid would happen if you did less?Write
2. Where did you learn that your worth is what you get done?Write
3. Which demands are truly yours, and which did you take on to keep the peace?Write
4. What would need to change for this pace to work for a whole year?Write
5. What do you feel most cynical about lately, and what did you once care about there?Write
6. What would recovery look like for you, week by week?Write
7. What would you say no to if you trusted that people would stay?Write
8. What did you love about this work before it wore you down?Write

For worries that will not switch off.

Light: easy to start

1. What is on your mind most today?Write
2. What would help you feel 5 percent calmer right now?Write
3. What were you anxious about before that turned out fine?Write
4. What does your body do when you get anxious?Write
5. What are three things you can see, hear and feel right now?Write
6. Which worry can you park until tomorrow?Write
7. Who or what helps you feel steady?Write
8. What is one fact about your situation, separate from your fears?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. Which worries keep coming back, and what do they have in common?Write
2. What do you avoid because of anxiety, and what is it costing you?Write
3. What would you do if you knew you could handle feeling uncomfortable?Write
4. What is the evidence for and against the thought that scares you most?Write
5. What does anxiety make you believe about yourself?Write
6. What would you lose if you stopped worrying about this?Write
7. When do you feel safest, and what is different then?Write
8. What would it look like to trust yourself with not knowing?Write

For something you are still carrying.

Light: easy to start

1. What is one sign that you are healing, however small?Write
2. What helps you feel safe?Write
3. Who has been kind to you lately?Write
4. What can you do today that your future self will thank you for?Write
5. What are you learning to let go of?Write
6. What does a good day look like now, compared with a year ago?Write
7. What comfort can you give yourself tonight?Write
8. Which part of you turned out stronger than you thought?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What happened that you are still carrying?Write
2. What do you wish someone had said to you back then?Write
3. What have you had to forgive yourself for?Write
4. What did you do to get through that you no longer need?Write
5. What is the hardest part of healing for you?Write
6. What would "healed" look like, if it were not a finish line?Write
7. What did that experience teach you about what you need?Write
8. Who would you be without this wound, and who are you because of it?Write

Childhood, memory and the rules you grew up with.

Light: easy to start

1. What is your earliest happy memory?Write
2. What did you want to be when you grew up?Write
3. What did you do for fun as a kid that you could do again?Write
4. Who was your favorite adult when you were a child, and why?Write
5. What smell, song or food takes you straight back?Write
6. What were you really good at as a kid?Write
7. Describe your childhood bedroom in as much detail as you can.Write
8. What moment from your past are you proud of?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What did your younger self need to hear more often?Write
2. Write a letter to yourself at age eight.Write
3. What did you learn to hide as a child to be accepted?Write
4. What do you still blame yourself for from the past, and is that fair?Write
5. Which past choice do you keep revisiting, and what would you tell yourself then?Write
6. Which rules from childhood do you still follow without thinking?Write
7. What part of your past do you rarely talk about, and what makes it hard?Write
8. What would your younger self think of who you are now?Write

What you want, and why you want it.

Light: easy to start

1. What are you looking forward to this month?Write
2. What would make this year feel like a good one?Write
3. What is one thing you want to learn?Write
4. Where would you like to travel, and with whom?Write
5. What would your ideal morning look like five years from now?Write
6. Which small habit would your future self thank you for starting?Write
7. What are you excited about, even a little?Write
8. Who do you want to spend more time with this year?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. Describe your life five years from now if things go well. Be specific.Write
2. What are you afraid will never change?Write
3. What would you try if you were allowed to be bad at it at first?Write
4. What do you want to be remembered for?Write
5. Which goal are you chasing because you want it, and which because you think you should?Write
6. What would you need to let go of to make room for what you want?Write
7. What does a meaningful life look like to you?Write
8. Write a letter from your future self to you today.Write

How it feels, what it needs, how you talk to it.

Light: easy to start

1. How does your body feel right now, from head to toe?Write
2. What did your body let you do today?Write
3. What kind of movement do you actually enjoy?Write
4. What does your body need more of this week: sleep, food, movement, rest or touch?Write
5. Where do you hold stress in your body?Write
6. What is one thing you like about your body?Write
7. How did you sleep last night, and how did it shape today?Write
8. What makes your body feel cared for?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What did you learn growing up about bodies and how they should look?Write
2. How do you talk to your body in your head?Write
3. What would change if you treated your body as a friend rather than a project?Write
4. When does your body tell you something your mind ignores?Write
5. What would you do if you were not worried about how you look?Write
6. Which feelings show up in your body before your mind names them?Write
7. What does feeling at home in your body mean to you?Write
8. How has your relationship with your body changed over the years?Write

Noticing what is going right.

Light: easy to start

1. What are three things that went well today?Write
2. Who is someone you are glad is in your life?Write
3. What simple pleasure did you enjoy this week?Write
4. What is a place that makes you feel at home?Write
5. What do you own that makes everyday life easier?Write
6. What made you smile today?Write
7. Which of your skills are you grateful for?Write
8. What did you notice in nature lately?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. Who has helped you without expecting anything back?Write
2. Which challenge are you grateful for now, looking back?Write
3. Write a thank-you note to someone you never properly thanked.Write
4. What do you have now that you once wished for?Write
5. What about this hard season can you still be grateful for?Write
6. Whose small kindness changed the course of your day, or your life?Write
7. What are you grateful for about yourself?Write
8. How has gratitude changed the way you see someone difficult?Write

Five minutes before the day starts.

Light: easy to start

1. How did you sleep, and how do you feel waking up?Write
2. What is one thing you are looking forward to today?Write
3. What is your one must-do today?Write
4. How do you want to feel by tonight?Write
5. What would make today a good day?Write
6. What can you let go of before the day begins?Write
7. What is one kind thing you can do for someone today?Write
8. What is your intention for today, in three words?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What is the hardest part of today likely to be, and how will you meet it?Write
2. What would the best version of you do today?Write
3. What did you dream about, and does it connect to anything going on?Write
4. What are you avoiding today, and what is one step toward it?Write
5. What would you do today if you were not afraid of anyone's opinion?Write
6. What matters most to you this week, and does today's plan reflect it?Write
7. Which thought do you want to bring into today, and which do you want to leave in bed?Write
8. If today were the only day this week you had for yourself, what would you do with it?Write

For closing the day and putting it down.

Light: easy to start

1. What was the best part of today?Write
2. What did you get done, however small?Write
3. What is one thing you learned today?Write
4. Who did you connect with today?Write
5. What is still on your mind that you can write down and leave here?Write
6. What do you want to do differently tomorrow?Write
7. What are you looking forward to tomorrow?Write
8. How does your body feel as the day winds down?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. Which moment from today would you like to replay, and why?Write
2. When did you feel most like yourself today?Write
3. What drained you today, and what does that tell you?Write
4. Did you act on your values today? Where yes, and where not quite?Write
5. Which feeling did you push away today?Write
6. What do you need to forgive yourself for from today?Write
7. Which conversation from today is still running in your head?Write
8. What would you like to let go of before you sleep?Write

For December, birthdays and any fresh start.

Light: easy to start

1. What were the three best moments of this year?Write
2. What new thing did you try this year?Write
3. Who mattered most to you this year?Write
4. What was your favorite place you went?Write
5. What made you laugh hardest this year?Write
6. What are you proud of from this year?Write
7. Which book, show, song or podcast stayed with you?Write
8. What is one word for this year?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What did this year teach you about yourself?Write
2. What did you let go of this year, and what do you still need to?Write
3. What was the hardest moment of the year, and how did you get through it?Write
4. Which relationships grew this year, and which faded?Write
5. What do you want to leave behind as the new year starts?Write
6. What surprised you most about how you changed?Write
7. If this year were a chapter of your life, what would it be called?Write
8. What do you want next year to feel like, not just look like?Write

Light: easy to start

1. What is the worry, in one plain sentence, with no "what if" in it?Write
2. Where in your body is the anxiety sitting right now, and what does it feel like?Write
3. What is one thing within your control in the next hour?Write
4. If a friend described this exact worry to you, what would you say back to them?Write
5. What has helped, even a little, the last time you felt this way?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What is the worst case you keep circling, and what would you actually do if it happened?Write
2. What is this worry trying to protect you from?Write
3. Which part of this is a problem you can solve, and which part is uncertainty you have to carry?Write
4. When did you first learn that worrying would keep you safe?Write
5. What would you be doing today if this worry were half as loud?Write

Light: easy to start

1. What happened, today or lately, that this sadness is about?Write
2. What does the sadness want right now: company, rest, a cry or quiet?Write
3. Name one small thing that would make the next hour a bit softer.Write
4. Who would you like to be sitting next to right now, and why them?Write
5. What are you missing?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. If this sadness could speak, what would it want you to know?Write
2. What are you grieving that you have not said out loud yet?Write
3. How do you treat yourself when you are sad? Is that how you would treat someone you love?Write
4. What did sadness look like in your home growing up, and who was allowed to show it?Write
5. What would it mean to let this feeling be here today without fixing it?Write

Light: easy to start

1. What exactly happened, in facts only, the way a camera would have recorded it?Write
2. Finish the sentence: I am angry because...Write
3. Where do you feel the anger in your body, and how strong is it from 0 to 10?Write
4. What do you wish you had said, uncensored? You never have to send it.Write
5. What would help the anger cool by one notch right now?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What boundary or value of yours was crossed?Write
2. Is there a hurt or a fear underneath the anger? What is it?Write
3. What do you need from the other person, and what can you give yourself if you never get it?Write
4. Which older situation does this one remind you of?Write
5. What response would you still be proud of a week from now?Write

Light: easy to start

1. Describe today in five plain words. They do not have to be feelings.Write
2. What can you notice right now with each of your senses?Write
3. When did you last feel something clearly, even something small?Write
4. What have you been doing to get through the days?Write
5. What, if anything, still feels slightly good or interesting?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. If the numbness were a wall, what might be on the other side of it?Write
2. What has been too much lately, so much that switching off made sense?Write
3. What would you be afraid to feel if the numbness lifted?Write
4. Who would notice if you told them you have been feeling flat? What would you want them to do?Write
5. What is one thing you used to love that you could try for ten minutes this week, just to see?Write

Light: easy to start

1. List everything on your mind right now, as fast as you can, in no order.Write
2. Which one thing on that list would make tomorrow easier if it were done?Write
3. What can wait a week without anything bad happening?Write
4. What are you carrying that is not actually yours to carry?Write
5. What is the smallest next step you could take in five minutes?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. Where did you say yes when you meant no?Write
2. What would you drop if you knew nobody would be disappointed?Write
3. What story are you telling yourself about what happens if you slow down?Write
4. Who could you ask for help, and what stops you from asking?Write
5. What would "enough" look like for this week?Write

Light: easy to start

1. When today did you feel most alone, and where were you?Write
2. Who was the last person you felt really understood by?Write
3. What kind of company are you missing: someone to talk to, to do things with, or to be quiet with?Write
4. Write a message to someone you have lost touch with. You can decide later whether to send it.Write
5. Where could you be around people this week, even without talking much?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. Do you feel lonelier when you are alone, or when you are with people? What is the difference?Write
2. What do you wish people knew about you that you rarely let them see?Write
3. What makes reaching out feel risky for you?Write
4. What did you learn growing up about needing other people?Write
5. What would a friendship that really fits you look like?Write

Light: easy to start

1. What made today good? Get specific.Write
2. Who was part of this good feeling?Write
3. What did you do that helped make it happen?Write
4. How does happy feel in your body right now?Write
5. What would you like to remember about today a year from now?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What does this good moment tell you about what you need more of?Write
2. Do you let yourself enjoy good moments, or wait for the catch? Why?Write
3. What would it take to have a day like this again next week?Write
4. Which of your values were you living out today?Write
5. Who could you share this with, and how?Write

Light: easy to start

1. Who made your day a little easier, and how?Write
2. What is something ordinary you would miss if it disappeared?Write
3. What went better than you expected recently?Write
4. What is a comfort you are glad to have tonight?Write
5. What small thing went right today that you almost missed?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. Who helped you become who you are, and have you ever told them?Write
2. What hard thing are you now grateful for, and what did it teach you?Write
3. What do you take for granted about the people closest to you?Write
4. What would you write in a thank-you letter to yourself from five years ago?Write
5. How could you pass on something that was given to you?Write

Light: easy to start

1. What exactly are you stuck on? Describe it as if to a stranger.Write
2. What have you already tried?Write
3. What would you try if it did not have to be the right answer?Write
4. What is one tiny step that would count as moving?Write
5. What would someone who is good at this do first?Write

Deeper: take a page

1. What are you waiting for permission to do?Write
2. What would happen if you chose and got it wrong?Write
3. Which option do you secretly want, and what makes it hard to admit?Write
4. Is the problem that you do not know what to do, or that you do not want to do it?Write
5. What would you, one year from now, want you to decide today?Write