Journaling prompts to feel better…
copyright: Dorothée King
Use your journal to support self-love.
Stop repeating self-loathe.
I have a journaling routine since I am 14 years old. But it took me a long time, before I actually understood how to use writing in my own favor. When I read my old diaries, all I want to do is to hug my younger self and say I am sorry: On endless pages I repeated and thus re-enacted my own misery. I covered pages with hate speech addressing my own body. I talked myself down until I believed it was my own fault for being in an abusive relationship. I felt and wrote like a victim of all the injustice in the world.
20 years later I am very glad that I am still journaling, but thank God the content is completely different. I dived into the self-help and personal development world. I tried different writing approaches. Now I journal to boost my self-confidence. I formulate goals - and also achieve them.
To speed up your love for journaling (aka the love for yourself), let me share some writing gems:
My Perfect Day
Open your journal and start writing about your perfect day. Use present tense, as if you are already experiencing your most wonderful dreams. Be accurate and detailed: How does your day start? Where and with whom do you wake up? How does your surrounding look like? What do you have for breakfast? How do you feel? What do you do all day? Whom do you meet? What do you create? Where are you? Go on and on. How does your perfect day end?
When I first did this exercise, it was hard for me to choose. I imagined so many different perfect days. Over time I became more honest with myself. My personal perfect day arose. I am doing this exercise regularly for two years. Meanwhile, my real day already looks approximately 80% like my dream day.
What am I excited about?
Instead of focusing on everything that goes wrong or might go wrong shift your energy: What makes you exited? What makes you jump out of bed?
Write down a couple of buzz words every day. You will soon realize what intrinsically motivates you.
What makes me curious?
This question will lead your way to all the things you still want to learn and experience in life. Open up and enjoy new paths and opportunities.
Right now, I usually write something like: I am curious about all the cool things I will write. And guess what, I am way more motivated and open to new topics.
What makes me proud?
Be super honest here. I am sure we all think we are supposed to be proud of job promotions or other external rewards. But maybe, if you are truthful with yourself, you are proud of finding the right tone to talk to your child. Maybe you are proud of the smoothie you made yourself for lunch. Maybe you are proud of …
Use this category in your journal as your own personal feel-good bank.
I am grateful for…
This is not news: Gratitude is the fastest way away from «my glass is half empty» mentality to «my jar is full to the brim» mindset. On most days I am grateful for my bed, food, my beautiful apartment, the love of my life, my kids, my dog, money in the bank… Writing this down already makes me smile.
What are you grateful for?
My desires
Here, I use a bullet point list. I align myself with the (long-term) goals I do not want to forget in the daily stress.
What are your ambitions? Writing them down every day changes your feelings, thoughts, and actions towards your goals.
3-point-to-do-list
You probably also know endless to-do lists, filled with more or less important things. How do you feel at the end of the day when your list has grown instead of shrunk? Exactly. That's why I recommend the 3-point list. I am always very proud when I can tick off all three points in the evening. And I have concentrated on the essentials.
What are the three things you want to do today, that make you truly happy?
Enjoy life. Thank you for reading.
Also published on medium: https://dorotheeking.medium.com/journaling-prompts-to-feel-better-stay-on-track-and-move-towards-your-goals-a39b35870581