Good Journal Prompts

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An individual who journals expresses their inner thoughts, emotions, and experiences through writing. In this type of therapy, the writer uses writing to gain an understanding of himself/herself as well as gain mental and emotional clarity. The use of journal therapy can open up previously inaccessible materials or allow difficult material to be expressed. In addition to helping heal a writer’s emotional and physical problems, journaling may help him or her work through traumas, such as illness, addiction, and relationship problems.

Would you like to write in a journal but aren’t sure how to begin? You can use journal prompts to help guide your writing by giving you ideas. Before you start writing, you can use journal prompts to give you a direction.

Below is the list of Journal Prompts to give you inspiration!

Create Lists
You can create lists of many things, such as the following:

Places you’ve enjoyed visiting.
Things you’ve done that you previously thought you could never do.
The people you most admire.
Your favorite books.
Your favorite movies.
Your favorite songs.
Your top five short term goals.
Your top five long term goals.

Confessions
Do you have anything you would like to confess (even if it’s just to the pages of your journal)?

Nobody knows that I . . .
Dear ____, it weighs on me that I never told you . . .
The biggest lie I’ve ever told is . . .
Is there anything you feel guilty about? Is there anything you need to be forgiven for?
What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?
What’s your secret desire?
What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve ever done?

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Use Quotes as Journal Prompts

“If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches.” — Rilke
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be some kind of library.” — Jorge Luis Borges
“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” — Jane Howard
“What in your life is calling you? When all the noise is silenced, the meetings adjourned, the lists laid aside, and the wild iris blooms by itself in the dark forest, what still pulls on your soul? In the silence between your heartbeats hides a summons, do you hear it? Name it, if you must, or leave it forever nameless, but why pretend it is not there?” — The Terma Collective
“Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul and you answer.” Star Richés

The Most . . .

The most terrifying moment of my life was . . .
The most fun I’ve ever had . . .
The most surprised I’ve ever been . . .
The most disappointed I’ve ever been . . .
What are you looking forward to the most?

Three Things

Three things you can’t go without.
Three celebrity crushes.
Three favorite book characters.
Three favorite things to wear.
Three things you want in a relationship.
If you had to evacuate your home because of a natural disaster, what three things would you take with you?
Three pet peeves.
Three things you’d do if you weren’t so afraid.
Three favorite TV shows.
100 Things I Love

Make a list of the things you love. Make sure you give an explanation for each of the things you add to your list. For example, don’t just list your favorite restaurants, write down what you enjoy about each one (the warm bread they serve before the meal, the waiter who always remembers your favorite dish, the whimsical decor, and so on). List …

10 Activities
10 Restaurants
10 People
10 Foods
10 Games
6 Drinks/Beverages
4 Desserts
10 Paintings
10 Web Sites
10 Writers
10 Famous lines from books/movies

Express Your Emotions

My saddest memory is . . .
Some of the things that make me happy are . . .
How do you deal with anger?
How easy is it for you to forgive those who have caused you pain?
What is the dominant emotion in your life right now?
Rituals and Traditions
My favorite Sunday ritual . . .
The Holiday traditions I most look forward to . . .
Things I always did with my dad when I was small . . .
Things I always did with my mom when I was little . . .

Ask “If” Questions

These prompts were inspired by the book If… (Questions For The Game of Life).
If you could have dinner with anyone currently alive, who would it be?
If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be?
If you could change one thing about your present life, what would it be?
If you could live anywhere you wanted, where would you live?
If you could go back in time and change one things from your past, what would it be?

Journals To Use