28 Thoughtful Journal Prompts

Do you need help with your journaling? Is it becoming stale? Maybe your life isn't that interesting to begin with...!

If that is the case, some prompts (journal writing ideas) might help you make writing on your notebook or phone the most entertaining part of your day. It might sound depressing, but that's a start!

Self Discovery

Do you want to dig up all the hidden secrets that you collect behind your ears? Do you want to ruin the only moments of peace that you might have with some self-knowledge? If so, these prompts might help you in your treacherous therapeutic journey:

1 - What are my strengths and weaknesses?

Try to be honest. Don't overcompensate or underestimate your capabilities. Although that is easier said than done since you might have poor estimating skills to begin with...!

2 - What am I doing writing when I haven't read a book since high school...? Re-reading Harry Potter doesn't count!

3 - What are some values that are important to me?

4 - What are some experiences from my past that have shaped who I am today?

5 - What are some patterns of behavior or thought that hold me back?

6 - What are some goals or aspirations I have for my life, and what steps can I take to work towards them?

Maybe this questions are missing the mark... What if your goal is to eat ice cream all day... Or to commit heinous crimes... Should I encourage the resolution of those goals?

7 - What are my fears and limiting beliefs? Remember that not being able to fly is not a limiting belief.

Prompts for Anxiety

Let's be sincere: If you are writing a journal and you are so devoted to it that you seek new ideas online to keep it going, you are probably suffering from anxiety...!

But keep in mind that striving to end consternation might not be a realistic goal. Maybe dealing with it in it's constantly changing forms could get you into a better "workflow" with your own problems:

8 - What is the source of my uneasiness?

9 - Who can I turn to for support?

10 - What have I learned from past experiences of facing fear? What worked well, and what didn’t work, short and long term?

11 - What do I have control over?

12 - What are some fears or limiting beliefs that are holding me back?

13 - What are some things that bring me joy and fulfillment, and how can I incorporate more of them into my life?

14 - How can I use my concerns as motivation?

Self Growth

Aside from "gym bros" and "crypto bros", there are ways to set goals and fulfill them without having to risk your life injuring your spine doing benchpresses or squats with weights that are way too heavy for you or learn about the financial market only to boast about it online and make no profit whatsoever.

Here are some alternative prompts to take you into better routes:

15 - What are three qualities I want to embody in my daily life?

16 - What are some habits I want to cultivate or break?

17 - What are some past mistakes or failures that have taught me valuable lessons?

18 - How can I set and work towards achievable, yet challenging, goals to drive personal growth and development?

19 - How can I balance taking risks and stepping outside of my comfort zone?

20 - How can I develop a growth mindset in areas that are difficult for me, such as public speaking or self-promotion? That is just me. Sorry, I shouldn't assume...!

21 - How can I seek out and embrace constructive criticism and feedback, and use it as an opportunity for growth and development? Next time I won't talk about gym or crypto bros, I promise!

Creative Writing Prompts

You might be less concerned with your mental wellbeing after all! What if you just want to write for fun? Here are some ideas for that worthy propuse:

22 - Write a story from the perspective of an inanimate object that has come to life.

Don't make it a "Toy Story" fan art project for the sake of the archaeologists digging your journal up in the future!

23 - Write about a character who wakes up one day with a superpower. Yes, the superpower of having original ideas!

24 - Write a poem about the beauty of nature.

25 - Write a story about a group of people who are stranded on a deserted island.

Or: 25b: Write your own reality TV show, Since you haven't seen enough of them, already...!

26 - Write a story from the perspective of a character who has lost their memory and is trying to piece together their past. And try to make it different from all the blockbusters following the exact same premise.

27 - Write about an experience that taught you a valuable lesson about forgiveness or acceptance... Or revenge and resentment!

28 - Write a story about a character who receives a letter from a long-lost relative with a surprising revelation.

Hopefully it's surprising... We all know that they didn't have Domestika to help them write, at the time, so maybe they didn't know how to write surprising revelations, back then... Who knows!?

If you took all those prompts you should have a "proustian" journal by now, but if you need it to be even longer for the sake of competition, here are even more ideas to lengthen your journal:

- Join our creative bullet journal course
- What are the benefits of journaling?
- Bullet journal for beginners tutorials An article by Karen Mercado