1. What is going well in your life right now? 

2. Think of the last time you had a really great day. What was the best part of it? 

3. Write about a time you felt brave. 

4. How will you enjoy creativity and nature today?

5. List as many things as you can that make you happy. 

6. How can you take a break today? 

7. When is the last time you lost track of time? What were you doing? 

8. What is the last thing you created that you were proud of? 

9. When is the last time you were excited? What was happening? 

10. When do you create the best results or make the best decisions in your life? 

11. How do you enjoy spending your free time most? 

12. What are your greatest strengths? 

13. What values are most important to you? Are you living true to these values? Why or why not? 

14. If you could make a difference in the world, what would it be? 

15. If you had no fear, what would you do? 

16. What is the biggest barrier between you and your full honesty in journaling? 

17. What would you do with $10 million? 

18. Write a letter to your teenage self. 

19. What have you learned today that will make tomorrow better? 

20. What are you most grateful for? 

21. What would you do if you had no fears? 

22. Do you own things, or do things own you? 

23. What happens when you let go of expectations? 

24. What are you currently worrying about? 

25. Who are you? 

26. Who do you want to be? 

27. Write about a difficult time in your life when you showed strength. 

28. What makes you unique? 

29. Write a letter to someone who has supported you through the most difficult time in your life. 

30. What do joy and wellness look and feel like to you? 

31. What qualities do you look for in a friend? 

32. List your accomplishments and successes. 

33. Who made you feel good in this past week?

34. What activities make you feel energized? 

35. Reflect on the happiest moment of your life and write down how you felt, what you heard, etc. 

36. What is your most treasured possession and why?

37. What is the greatest life lesson you’ve ever learned? 

38. How do you feel about your body? 

39. Do you consider yourself a victim of your circumstances or a survivor? 

40. How does journaling help you? 

41. If you could run away, where would you go? What would you bring with you? 

42. What are two unforgettable moments in your life? 

43. Share your innermost secret; something you’ve never told anyone before. 

44. What is one thing you can do today to improve your health? 

45. What is the driving force in your life? 

46. What is your personal motto? 

47. Write a letter to someone you need to forgive. 

48. What are you angry about? 

49. How do you want to be remembered? What do you want to be remembered for? 

50. Choose a number and write a gratitude list. 

51. What do you need right now? 

52. Who or what means the world to you, and why? 

53. Share your favorite positive affirmations. 

54. What are you passionate about? 

55. Reflect on an old photograph and write about it. 

56. Write your own obituary. 

57. How do you manage stress? 

58. How does it feel to be the age that you currently are? 

59. What does authenticity mean to you? 

60. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Who was it from? Why is it the best? 

61. Do you practice any time management techniques? If not, do you think you could benefit from some? 

62. If you could relive any experience in your life, what would it be? 

63. Are you addicted to social media? Honestly assess yourself. 

64. Reflect on some of the changes you’ve seen in yourself over the last 5 years. 

65. What is your earliest childhood memory? 

66. Write a review of a book or movie that had a huge impact on you.

 67. What does growing older mean to you? 

68. What is your guilty pleasure? 

69. Write a letter to your future or current child. 

70. Look in the mirror and write about what you see. 

71. Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20 years? 

72. Write about your family members. 

73. Why is it important to embrace your inner child? 

74. What excites you about your future? 

75. List 5 short-term and long-term goals. Explain the steps you’ll take to achieve each of those goals. 

76. Share your bucket list. 

77. What bad habits do you have? 

78. Write about the place you grew up. 

79. Discuss an important and controversial topic that is relevant in the world right now and explain your stance on it. 

80. Write a letter to a pre-teen about body image. 

81. How do you maintain your mental, physical, and spiritual health? 

82. Are you honestly happy with how you have lived your life so far? 

83. What do you really, truly want? 

84. How can you amplify what you’re currently doing in your life? 

85. How can you make someone’s day today? 

86. What are you currently fighting or resisting? 

87. What does life want from you? 

88. What do you need to give yourself permission to do? Write a permission slip for it, as long as it is healthy. 

89. What do you want to learn today? 

90. What would happen if you forgave yourself for doing something you regret? 

91. How can you do more? 

92. How can you do less? 

93. Do you ever get in your own way? How? 

94. On this long journey of self-discovery, what do you hope to achieve or find?

95. What do you think shaped you into the person you are today? 

96. Knowing that you must let go of some things in order to move forward, what do you need to let go of? 

97. Is there anything you need to get off your chest? Write it out. 

98. When do you feel free and the most confident? 

99. List questions you need answers to. 

100. When you’re old and gray, what do you hope you remember about your life? 

101. Do you have depression or anxiety? If so, write about what it feels like, what it looks like, etc. 

102. What is motivating you to journal for self-discovery? 

103. Write a list of people you can trust or go to in times of need. Note contact information. 

104. If you lost everything, what would you do? Where would you go? 

105. If you knew you had a month to live, who would you call? What would you say? What would you do? 

106. How is your relationship with your parents? 

107. What is your dream job or profession? 

108. What is your stance on religion? Do you consider yourself religious? 

109. What is the most outrageous thing you’ve ever done? 

110. What is worse: never trying, or trying and failing many times? 

111. What is the worst thing that’s ever happened to you? 

112. What would you change about your body? 

113. What does success actually mean to you?

114. How do you express your anger? Is this a good or healthy manner of expression? 

115. If you had 3 wishes, what would you wish for? 

116. List some of your favorite songs and note why you like them. 

117. Do you have any sexual fantasies? 

118. What is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made? 

119. Write a letter to someone you strongly admire. 

120. Do you procrastinate? When? What could you do to stop procrastinating?

121. What are your weaknesses? 

122. Describe your favorite season and why you like it. 

123. Write about how your sense of style has changed over the past 5 years. 

124. What is the meaning of life? 

125. What is your life’s purpose? 

126. What are you currently craving? 

127. What is something you would love to do, but aren’t sure if you can do? 

128. When do you feel the best about yourself? 

129. When do you feel the worst about yourself? 

130. Who are you not? 

131. How does your intuition or conscience speak to you? 

132. What aspect of your life do you need support in? 

133. What gave you great joy today? 

134. Did you feel lovable today? Why or why not? 

135. What expectations of yours haven’t been met recently? Why or why not? 

136. When you think about your future, how do you feel? 

137. Write about some of the negative things your inner critic says to you, and then disprove them with rational thoughts. 

138. If your life could be summarized or exuded in one word, what would that word be? 

139. Write about a moment experienced through your body. It could be making love, eating breakfast, laughing, etc. 

140. What couldn’t you live without? 

141. What does unconditional love look like to you? 

142. What do you wish others knew about you? 

143. If your body could talk to you, what would it say? 

144. What do you love about life? 

145. What emotions do you feel or associate with confidence? 

146. What are some things you’d like to say no to? 

147. How can having a positive attitude change your life? 

148. Write a pep talk to yourself for use the next time you feel upset or depressed. 

149. Write a letter to your future self. 

This is a compiled list of journal prompts for those days when you need a little push to get started <3. I’ve divided them into subcategories so the list wouldn’t seem as daunting. 

Questions:

What scares you?

Do you have a Plan? Do you need a Plan? Have you had a plan fall spectacularly to pieces?

What do you need right now?

What is your ideal state of being?

What is holding you back right now?

Who in your support system can you reach out to right now?

What are you struggling with right now?

Create Lists:

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.

Things that help me calm down

Things that help me cope

Things that comfort me

Your top five short term goals.

Your top five long term goals.

Getting it Off Your Chest:

Nobody knows that I–

Dear ____, I’m sorry 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?

Is there someone you need to forgive?

What’s your secret desire?

What is your biggest dream?

Visual Journaling Prompts:

Leaf through a couple of magazines and cut out any images that catch your attention.  Use each one as a prompt.

Look through your photographs and choose a few to write about.

Draw/Collage how you’re feeling right now

Use images to describe triggers/panic attacks/ symptoms that are hard to verbalize

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.

Three pet peeves.

Three future goals.

Three safe places.

Three things you can do now that you couldn’t do before.

Three things you hope to do in the future.

Three favorite TV shows/ movies.

Things I Love:

Activities

Subjects

Colors

Textures

Places

People

Games

Paintings

Safe Spaces

Web Sites

Writers

Famous lines from books/movies

Express Your Emotions

My happiest memory is–

Some of the things that make me happy are …

How do you deal with anger? Sadness? Fear? Can you improve on these coping techniques

What healthy ways do you express emotion? What unhealthy ways still need work?

How easy is it for you to forgive those who have caused you pain?

What is the dominant emotion in your life right now?

Identifying Tools

What is your favorite comfort object (describe it and explain why it helps)

Do you ever get lost? How do you help yourself?

Did you have a safe space? What does it look like? Why did you choose it?

What goal making tools do you use and/or want to try?

What activities help you wind down?

Week Rewind!

Who made you feel good this week?

What did you do this week that moved you closer to reaching your goals?

Is there anything you did this week that you wish you’d done differently?

What did you most enjoy doing this week?

What did you learn this week?

What’s the funniest thing that happened to you this week?

What do you need to improve on from this week for next week?

Write a Letter–Practicing Gratitude to Others and Yourself

Write a letter to someone you need to forgive.

Write a letter to someone you’re thankful for.

Write a letter to someone who believed in you even when you didn’t believe in yourself.

Write a letter to yourself and read it again 30 days from now

Write a letter to yourself  and read it again 6 months from now

Is there something you’re reluctant to tell someone?  Write a letter to help you organize your thoughts.

Positive Self Reflection

Write about your journey through recovery

Write about your motivation

Write about your academic needs and success

Write about your support system

Write about a safe space you occupy

Write about something you accomplished recently 

What makes you unique?

What Goals have you been working on?

What are your best character traits?

What are you really good at?

What character traits do you need to work on?

What are some of your idiosyncrasies?

How do you treat yourself? 

How do you talk to yourself?

Self Care Saturday Weekly Challenge: Find the time to journal for a minimum of 20 minutes this week. How you divide the time is your decision, but pick a prompt and write/create about it this week. Don’t worry about it being perfect, no one is going to read it but you, unless you choose to share. 

The crux of his argument is that humans are self-referential feedback loops. We take in information from the world and incorporate it into how we react the next time we receive information. A whole section of Strange Loop is dedicated to Hofstadter’s concern with the memory of his late wife, Carol. She died suddenly and he was left wondering what parts of her, if any, can “survive” in his memory. And he eventually concluded that every human is a combination and response to all the other humans they’ve ever interacted with:

do you ever think about how mariah carey wrote this song after getting a record deal because she knew she was on her destined path and she was so thankful to god

and then it inspired a whole generation to become singers and follow their own paths: brandy sang vision of love to land her record deal, beyoncé made her mind up to become a singer when she first heard vision of love, and when someone asked rihanna what song made her want to be a singer, she said vision of love

“Most films made for children are flashy adventure-comedies. Structurally and tonally, they feel almost exactly like blockbusters made for adults, scrubbed of any potentially offensive material. They aren’t so much made for children as they’re made to be not not for children. It’s perhaps telling that the genre is generally called “Family,” rather than “Children’s.” The films are designed to be pleasing to a broad, age-diverse audience, but they’re not necessarily specially made for young minds.”

“My Neighbor Totoro, on the other hand, is a genuine children’s film, attuned to child psychology. Satsuki and Mei move and speak like children: they run and romp, giggle and yell. The sibling dynamic is sensitively rendered: Satsuki is eager to impress her parents but sometimes succumbs to silliness, while Mei is Satsuki’s shadow and echo (with an independent streak). But perhaps most uniquely, My Neighbor Totoro follows children’s goals and concerns. Its protagonists aren’t given a mission or a call to adventure - in the absence of a larger drama, they create their own, as children in stable environments do. They play.”

“Consider the sequence just before Mei first encounters Totoro. Satsuki has left for school, and Dad is working from home, so Mei dons a hat and a shoulder bag and tells her father that she’s “off to run some errands” - The film is hers for the next ten minutes, with very little dialogue. She’s seized by ideas, and then abandons them; her goals switch from moment to moment. First she wants to play “flower shop” with her dad, but then she becomes distracted by a pool full of tadpoles. Then, of course, she needs a bucket to catch tadpoles in - but the bucket has a hole in it. And on it goes, but we’re never bored, because Mei is never bored.”

“[…] You can only ride a ride so many times before the thrill wears off. But a child can never exhaust the possibilities of a park or a neighborhood or a forest, and Totoro exists in this mode. The film is made up of travel and transit and exploration, set against lush, evocative landscapes that seem to extend far beyond the frame. We enter the film driving along a dirt road past houses and rice paddies; we follow Mei as she clambers through a thicket and into the forest; we walk home from school with the girls, ducking into a shrine to take shelter from the rain; we run past endless green fields with Satsuki as she searches for Mei. The psychic center of Totoro’s world is an impossibly giant camphor tree covered in moss. The girls climb over it, bow to it as a forest-guardian, and at one point fly high above it, with the help of Totoro. Much like Totoro himself, the tree is enormous and initially intimidating, but ultimately a source of shelter and inspiration.”

“My Neighbor Totoro has a story, but it’s the kind of story that a child might make up, or that a parent might tell as a bedtime story, prodded along by the refrain, “And then what happened?” This kind of whimsicality is actually baked into Miyazaki’s process: he begins animating his films before they’re fully written. Totoro has chase scenes and fantastical creatures, but these are flights of fancy rooted in a familiar world. A big part of being a kid is watching and waiting, and Miyazaki understands this. When Mei catches a glimpse of a small Totoro running under her house, she crouches down and stares into the gap, waiting. Miyazaki holds on this image: we wait with her. Magical things happen, but most of life happens in between those things—and there is a kind of gentle magic, for a child, in seeing those in-betweens brought to life truthfully on screen.”