Journal Questions to Ask Yourself

Sometimes, many times, we need to stop and check in with ourselves mentally. One way that I do that is through journalling (or talking to a loved one or therapy). To get myself to think about something in a new way, I occasionally use prompts like the ones below.

I encourage you to read through the questions and see if some resonate with you. If you are at an inflection point in your life, need to move on from something, looking a new direction, etc - giving yourself the time and space to reflect may help you uncover patterns and priorities. 

Purpose

• What do you look forward to doing the most?
• What are you the most organized and proactive about?
• What do you spend most of your money on?
• What will you not procrastinate on anymore?
• What do you live for?
• Who do you want to become?
• What makes you lose track of time?
• What activities would you miss the most if you couldn’t do them?
• What is uniquely valuable about you?
• What do you find significant? What moments do you value?
• What would you do if you didn’t have to worry about money?
• What opportunities excite you and how come?
• What do you want to get really good at doing?
• What problems do you enjoy solving that most people don’t enjoy?
• What have you always wanted to do but haven't given yourself permission to do?
• What makes a day fulfilling for you?
• What inspires other people about what you do?
• What do you need the most right now?
• If you were given 2 additional hours everyday, what would you do with this extra time?

Career

• What are your need-to-haves at work?
• What does success look like at work?
• How do you find happiness at work?
• What are your hard skills and soft skills?
• What are the core elements of work you like?
• What are the non-negotiable things you want from a job?
• What are you most proud to have achieved in relation to your job/career?
• What is your ultimate goal with work?
• What is an area you can handle the pain of working better than others?

Self Understanding

• If you were on the top of a mountain and you have nothing, no possessions in your life, no title, no job, no description of who you are, you're nothing, what are you then? What are you left with if you've been stripped from all of that? Who are you?
• What are you pretending not to know?
• What is the best thing you have discovered about yourself?
• What makes you feel the most like yourself? Why?
• Where do you naturally spend your thoughts and energy when left to your own devices?
• What is the mask you wear (ie how to other people see you) and how is that different from how you view yourself?
• Write down in your journal 10 sentences you would use to describe yourself. What is the tone of your personal description?
• What are your core values?
• What makes you happy, sad, afraid, turned on? Make lists!
• What parts of yourself have you lost touch with?
• What does your inner critic tell you? How does it stop you from moving forward?
• What are your boundaries?
• What patterns do you notice?
• What beliefs are holding you back?
• What is the question you keep asking yourself?

Past Reflection

• Year Compass - a large booklet that helps you close your year and plan your next. 
• What was the wisest decision you ever made?
• What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned?
• What is the biggest risk you took?
• What is the most important thing you did for others?
• Who are three people who influenced you the most?
• Who are three people you influenced the most?
• How are you complicit in creating the conditions in your life you say you don’t want?

Past Wounds

• What am I afraid others will see in me?
• What are the patterns of relationship issues that keep coming up with partners?
• When is the first time you remember that things weren’t okay?
• Were there times where your parents didn’t believe what you were saying?
• Did anything happen during the past that still needs to be forgiven?
• What do you wish would be different?
• What are you unwilling to feel?

Growth

• What's one thing you would like to do more of and why? How can you make that happen?
• What's one thing you would like to do less of and why? How can you make that happen?
• Why don’t you do the things you know you should be doing?
• What do you want to be like in one year?
• What struggles or sacrifices are you willing to tolerate to get what you want?
• What is out of your comfort zone?
• What you are afraid of?
• Which decisions are you not making?
• What is your goal, the obstacle and the plan?

Friendship

• What formats do you enjoy being playful and connecting (ex. imaginative, flirting, sports, etc)?
• How can you be a better friend?
• If you feel too busy to find time to connect, how can you be social in what you already do (ex. errands, carpool, working out, etc)?
• What do you value in a friendship?
• What environments do you best connect in? (ex. bars, at home, playing sports, etc)

Issue Specific

• What are your expectations and the reality about the presenting issue?
• Is this true?
• What are you doing today that is purposeful?
• Are your beliefs about this presenting issue supporting your needs, expanding your choices and empowering you?
• What keeps coming up that is triggering you? Why?  
• What can you do to enjoy the process of solving this problem?
• What’s good about this situation?
• In order for you to be happy in this situation, what do you need them to think, say, feel, or do?
• What is the best and worst case scenario? Is it really permanent? What could you do to repair those things? What are the benefits of each scenario? How likely are the benefits and have people dumber than you pulled it off? How has being realistic or responsible kept you from what you want?
• What is it about this situation that you don’t ever want to experience again?
• What are the facts about the situation? How do you feel about the situation? What insights have you gained? What steps can you take next?