journal prompts for self-discovery

what you value

1. 1what’s something you defend even when it costs you?
2. 2which compliment has stuck with you for years, and why that one?
3. 3what would you keep doing if no one ever saw it?
4. 4when did you last feel proud of yourself with no one around?
5. 5what do you spend money on without any guilt?
6. 6which rule do you follow that nobody actually gave you?
7. 7what’s a belief you hold now that you’d have argued against five years ago?
8. 8who do you quietly measure yourself against?

how you work

1. 9what kind of tired do you feel most often: body, brain, or people?
2. 10what do you do in the first ten minutes after you get home?
3. 11which task do you always put off, and what does it actually ask of you?
4. 12when do you feel most like yourself during an ordinary week?
5. 13what do you reach for when you’re bored?
6. 14how do you act when you’re wrong, and how would you like to?
7. 15what are you good at that you never get credit for?
8. 16which room, place, or chair do your best thoughts happen in?

the stories you tell

1. 17what’s a story about yourself you’ve told so often you stopped checking it?
2. 18which word would your oldest friend use for you, and would you agree?
3. 19what did you want to be at ten, and what part of that is still in you?
4. 20what’s a “that’s just how i am” that might not be true anymore?
5. 21when did someone see you more clearly than you saw yourself?
6. 22what do you hope people say about you after you leave a room?
7. 23which version of you shows up at work, and which one shows up at 2am?

what you want next

1. 24what would you try if you knew you’d be bad at it for a year?
2. 25what are you waiting for permission to do?
3. 26which small thing would make next month feel like yours?
4. 27what do you want more of that doesn’t cost money?
5. 28what are you ready to stop explaining?
6. 29if this year had a title, what would you want it to be by december?
7. 30what question do you wish someone would ask you?

how to use these

• Pick one prompt. Not the best one, just the one that catches.
• Write for five minutes. Set a timer if it helps, and stop when it rings.
• One line is a fine answer. Some days that is the whole entry.
• Don’t edit while you write. Nobody grades this.
• If a prompt doesn’t fit, skip it. Come back in a month and it might.
• Reread old answers every few weeks. Self-discovery shows up in the repeats.

more journal prompts