10 Journal Entries for Self-Discovery

Responding to a variety of writing prompts will help you think deeper about your emotions, wants, needs and priorities as well as provide a productive pastime. Journaling doesn’t just mean responding to prompts you find online! It can mean making lists of future goals, accomplishments you’re proud of, or even your favorite highlighted moments of the month!

The best part is, you get to choose what you write about! There’s always more to write about and reflect on, so you never have to worry about running out of ideas.

Here are a few of my latest journal prompts that I’ve written about to spark more moments of self-discovery:

I personally like to skateboard and thankfully am at an age where I don’t have to worry about too much judgement from my classmates for doing it. However, I haven’t been completely unbothered by this kind of judgement. From my own experience, it’s been older generations who tended to be most judgemental of me “participating in boyish hobbies.”

My advice to anyone who has been mocked for enjoying hobbies more popular with the opposite gender is to keep doing what you love. If it makes you happy or seems like a good use of your free time, why care what others think about it? Don’t deny yourself something that makes you happy just because someone else wants you to.

3. What is holding you back from accomplishing your dreams? How can you work to overcome these obstacles?

It’s easy to keep telling ourselves we will achieve our goals eventually. Eventually isn’t soon enough for me. When I intend to follow through with something, I know that there will be obstacles and without acknowledging them, I’ll never be successful. Understand what your obstacles are going to be and plan on how you can overcome them to achieve your goal.

It is critical to acknowledge these hurdles in order to get over them and it’s never too soon to start thinking about your plan of action. I find it so much easier to get past my struggles when I take a moment to think of how to get past them and it keeps me from overthinking any problems that come my way.

4. What is something you take for granted? How can you show more appreciation for this?

It’s easy to get caught up in life and sometimes the little things get completely ignored. Once you put a little bit of effort into considering the underappreciated aspects of your life, you’ll realize how much brighter they make your day.

Taking a moment to look at the flowers when walking the dog is my most recent way of appreciating the little things in life and certainly makes standing out in the wind a lot less miserable. Besides, how could I ignore all the beautiful flowers that have finally started blooming?

5. How do you want people to remember you?

This is a great prompt to think about what qualities you like and dislike about yourself. It’s easy to lose track of who we want to be in a few months or years, so it’s good to reflect on this often.

Whether it means working on patience or trying to build a work ethic, it’s never a bad idea to start reflecting on what characteristics you want to see yourself with. I’ve found myself making better decisions and having more of a drive to be productive when I keep this thought at bay.

I love adding paper tapes and using colorful pens to decorate my journal when responding to different prompts or compiling goal lists like this one!
Adding inspirational quotes in the blank space always makes for a great addition to the page!

6. When did you last surprise yourself?

I love this prompt because of how it has the power to remind ourselves of what we are capable of. It’s nice to reflect on times when you surprise yourself because it proves we are more than we think we are.

I responded to this prompt on a bad day and quickly realized that I have the power to do so much more than I was originally telling myself and it helped me regain the mental strength to get over the bad day.

7. What quality do you admire most about yourself?

While it’s good to reflect and ask ourselves what we want to improve, it’s also important to consider our best qualities. It’s not selfish or narcissistic to think positively about yourself and even praise yourself for your accomplishments so far.

For me, this prompt reminded me that while I still have a lot of progress to make in my future, I’ve already done a lot to make it all possible one day. I personally responded to this prompt in order to reflect on who I have grown up to be so far and how I can continue to grow into the person I want to be.

8. How are you most misunderstood?

This is another great prompt that will help you reflect on who you are as a person and how people receive you. If I am misunderstood, I always try to correct myself so my intended response is heard.

No one likes to be misunderstood even in casual conversation, so misconceptions about your personality or opinions can be incredibly frustrating. Taking a few minutes to focus on how you are most misunderstood can make it much easier to get your point across the next time you try to.

This prompt pairs well with the ‘How do you want people to remember you?’ prompt above!

9. What do you plan to accomplish in the near future? How can you reach these goals?

This is a great prompt that I responded to just the other week. It really makes you think about what is most important to you!
I never realized how impactful making a simple list would be, but this really sparked my drive to accomplish these goals and I have been on a roll ever since! I really find these lists to be helpful and they serve as great reminders that I am able to work toward my goals a little bit every day.

*This prompt pairs well with the ‘What is holding you back from achieving your dreams? How can you overcome these obstacles?’ prompt above!

10. How has your opinion of yourself changed as you’ve gotten older?

While this prompt may seem simple, it ignites a lot of emotion in me whenever I think about a response to it. My opinion of myself has changed drastically over the years and I’m grateful for the new, positive opinion I have of myself.

Just a few years ago I had a very different view of myself and of my actions which were tied to negative memories I have thankfully gotten over. This kind of change in opinion is positive and if you have a negative opinion of yourself, this prompt can be paired with the ‘What quality do you admire most about yourself?’ prompt to help you realize how you have matured over the years.