If you’re feeling stuck—whether it’s in your personal or professional life—journaling can help close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
“Journaling helps us to clarify thoughts and feelings, reduce stress, solve problems and helps to resolve disagreements with others, says Janet Philbin, LCSW. “In my 21-year practice as a clinician, I have found journaling to help my clients improve coping skills, maintain emotional regulation, decrease worrisome and obsessive thoughts, improve sleep and journaling allows for integration of traumatic experiences.”
When you sit down to start journaling, the words might not always flow onto the page, and that’s completely normal! If you’re unsure what to write, Philbin recommends the following prompts:
Journal a list of five things you did today that brought you joy and write down why.
Journal a list of five things that upset you today and write down why.
Sit still for a moment and journal how your body is feeling at this moment in time, use as much description as possible.
What are you afraid to speak out loud but wish people knew about you?
What was one thing you felt proud of yourself for today?
If you were to say one thing to yourself that is loving what would that be and why do you need to hear that?
What is something you have always believed about yourself and why?
What is something you always felt you wanted to accomplish and what has held you back?
Imagine your perfect day and write down all of the details.
What TV or movie characters do you most identify with? Write as many details as possible.
Mary Potter Kenyon, certified grief counselor and Therapeutic Art coach, program coordinator at a spirituality center and author of Expressive Writing for Healing: Journal Your Way from Grief to Hope, suggests these journaling prompts to raise your self-awareness and heal emotionally.
Make a list of all the lies you tell yourself. Now go down the list, cross out the lie and write the truth.
Everyone has a story to tell. What’s yours?
Author Lewis Carroll marked never-to-be-forgotten days in his journal as “white-stone” days. What are some white-stone memories in your days?
Without thinking about it too much, make a list of ten milestone moments in your life from birth to now, moments, good or bad, that stood out. Now, take one of those moments and write more about it.
You don’t have to be a writer to express yourself through writing. When the writing is for ourselves, and not for publication, there are no rules. Try writing a free verse poem. It doesn’t have to rhyme, nor does it have to follow a certain format.
What have you learned about yourself in facing difficult situations? Maybe you are stronger, or weaker, than you ever imagined. Make a list of your strengths.
You are going to feel emotional pain during difficult experiences. That is a given. The question is; what are you going to do with that pain? Will you use it to propel you do make changes in your life, to become a better person, or to reach out to others? Write down some ways you can mine your pain.
Research has proven that practicing gratitude has health benefits. Make a list of three things you are thankful for. Some days, it might be as simple as a smile from a stranger.
If time or money were no object, make a bucket list of sorts, a list of all the things you’d like to do or experience in your life. Now, choose one, and make plans to do it,
Look back to your childhood. What were you naturally drawn to? Where did your natural interests and talents lie? Make a list of activities you loved as a child. Now, choose one and make plans to incorporate that same activity into your adult life.
Fill in the blank with these simple yet powerful prompts from Alexander Burgemeester, Neuropsychiatrist and Founder of “The Narcissistic Life:”
I couldn’t imagine living without…
I really wish others knew this about me…
One thing I wish I felt comfortable doing is…
What I loved most about today is…
The biggest surprise of my life in the past year has been…
The biggest lesson from my biggest mistake, so far, is…
What inspires me most is…
