Happy 2024! As the past year has come to a close and we welcome a fresh start, we often feel tasked with the opportunity for renewal and growth with no framework for how to approach it. So by the end of the year we find ourselves in a December daze, unsure about what we did for the past dozen months and perpetually craving greater satisfaction in our habits. Luckily, there are ways to halt this unfulfilling cycle. One method I’ve turned to over the past year is journaling. Whether you’re looking to set goals for your future, manage stress, or simply boost your creativity, putting pen to paper and exploring your mind in this way can help you get one step closer. As a matter of fact, research has shown that “people who write down their goals are 42 percent more likely to achieve them than those who don’t.”
The beauty of journaling is that it can take on many forms and does not have to be a major commitment. While you could devote a larger chunk of time to in-depth prompts, beginning and maintaining the practice can also consist of brief recordings (e.g. naming three things you’re grateful for each morning). In the same breath, journaling does not necessarily restrict you to a daunting paragraph format: prompts merely compelling you to make lists or draw something out can be just as effective.
Want to get into journaling but not sure where to start? Keep reading.
Prompts for Starting Fresh:
- What was the hardest lesson I learned this year?
- Write, in as much detail as you feel necessary, about a dream or goal you have for your future, even if it feels entirely unrealistic in the present. What are small steps you can take in the next day, week, and month that push you in the direction of that dream?
- What skill or hobby would I like to learn?
- What has held me back from accomplishing my past goals?
- Who do I want to become this year?
- How/What does this version of myself:
- Dress?
- Watch (TV/movies)?
- Listen to?
- Set boundaries?
- What are this version of myself’s morning and night routines?
- What are this version’s wellness habits? (exercise, yoga, meditation, eating well…)
- How do people treat this version of myself?
- How does this version of myself treat people?
- What does this version’s social circle look like?
- Where is this version’s focus?
- How/What does this version of myself:
- How do I want to be perceived?
- Who do I look up to? What behaviors, character traits, and physical attributes of theirs can I embody in my own life?
- What are some limiting beliefs that have held me back in the past? Write them down and explore their origins.
- Reflect on the experiences or influences that could have contributed to these beliefs. How have they impacted your life?
- Imagine your life without these limiting beliefs. How would it look? How would it feel?
- What empowering beliefs align with my goals? What affirmations can I create to replace old beliefs that didn’t align with my goals?
- What is my golden rule?
Morning Prompts:
- How do I feel right now?
- What is one thing I am grateful for in this moment?
- How do I want today to go?
- What am I excited for?
- How can I show love to others today?
- Today I will not:
Night-Time Prompts:
- How did I feel about today?
- What did I learn today?
- What could I do differently tomorrow that would make it better than today?
- How did I show myself love today?
- What was challenging today? How did it make me feel?
- What went well today? Why do I think it went well?
- What made me smile today?
- What am I looking forward to tomorrow?
Prompts for the Lows:
- What advice would I give someone else about what matters most in life?
- What was one thing I felt proud of myself for today?
- List at least three things (but as many as you can think of) that you feel truly grateful for. (There is SO MUCH creative freedom with this prompt; it can be something as small as the temperature of the coffee you ordered that morning)
- Sit still and understand how your body feels at this moment in time. Write exactly how you feel physically, with as much detail as possible.
- “I realy wish others knew this about me…”
- Write a letter to your past self, reflecting on a time when you were facing a problem you didn’t know how to solve at the time, from the perspective of your current self who has successfully resolved the problem.