Engage With Your Emotions
Meditation and journaling are two of my favorite introspection tools. Meditation encourages you to observe your thoughts, while journaling invites you to actively engage with them, memorializing what you are thinking or feeling at that point in time. I’ve journaled on and off since I was about 10 years old (I still have my original, faux-fur leopard print diary) but many of my early entries read as a summary of events rather than giving me insight into my emotional state. Going to therapy made me realize that I sometimes avoid delving into how I feel about an event, instead giving a factual play-by-play. Journal prompts have really been helpful because they help set the stage for reflecting on my emotions.
The benefits that comes with journaling have been scientifically established, with an article posted on Positive Psychology citing to 83 Benefits of Journaling for Anxiety, Depression and Stress. These journaling ideas are designed to help you delve deeply into your psyche to reap these benefits, even if emotional deep-dives don’t come naturally (like they didn’t for me).
Self love means something different to each one of us. By completing these prompts, you will have a better sense of what self love means to you.
Journal Prompts
- What does self love look like to me? How can I embody it more?
- What are the ways in which I abandon myself?
- How can I keep the promises I make to myself?
- Am I comfortable spending time alone? If not, why?
- Is my self-worth conditional?
- What beliefs do I have about love based on past relationships? Do I want to hold on to these beliefs?
- What are the tangible ways in which I show myself love?
- What are the intangible ways in which I show myself love?
- Do I truly believe that I deserve love from myself?
- How good am I at listening to my internal cues?
- Do I trust my intuition?
- How can I learn more about love, beyond what was modeled for me by my parents and past relationships?
- Do I respect my feelings, or do I second-guess them? Do I suppress them?
- How do I prioritize my own needs?
- What is my inner self-talk like? Do I judge myself too harshly?
- Am I relying on other people to meet my emotional needs, or am I meeting them myself?
- What inner qualities am I most proud of?
- What are some of the ways that I have grown as a person?
- How am I honoring my dreams and life ambitions?
- Do I honor the boundaries I put in place for myself and others?
- Do I feel comfortable expressing “ugly” emotions?
- What positive things would a close friend say about me? Do I agree? Why?
- How would I describe myself to someone that has never met me? Is this a kind description?
- Do I accept compliments as readily as I accept criticism?
- Am I equally comfortable giving and receiving love?
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I hope these are helpful! Is there anything you would add to this list of prompts? Let me know in the comments!
