30 Journal Prompts To Kickstart A Selfcare Habit

The last year feels like a blur of darkness. I had some of the worst moments of my life over the last 18 months, and I won't lie, it was hard to come back from. Thankfully, I had a core group of really great girlfriends and clients who helped make it happen. I also started therapy, created a few self-care rituals, and worked on wellness holistically. All of it helped keep me grounded and my anxiety at manageable levels.

One of those things was journaling. At the end of December, when I was really deep in the dark and trying to find my way out, I came across a TikTok with an end-of-year journaling practice. Thirteen days of journaling helped me narrow down what I wanted to focus on for 2024. I plan to do this every year.

After the thirteen days ended, I kept journaling every morning — first with prompts a therapist I worked with gave me, then some I found on Pinterest, until eventually I was able to free-journal on my own each morning. After decades of trauma and abuse from my own family and my husband's, it was difficult to figure out who I was, what I needed to feel, and what I needed to let go of.

In an effort to inspire others to take self-care to a holistic level, not just skincare, I'm sharing 30 journal prompts to help you build journaling into your own self-care practice.

And for everyone reaching out with what happened... spill the tea, I'm not ready to.

All I'll say is that the most abusive people are often the cutest, sweetest, warmest people in public — but due to substances and their own traumas, they turn manipulative and hateful in private. These last 18 months made me realize how many times I put my own feelings aside to "keep the peace" around other people's addictions and issues. Now that I have my own child, I realize "keeping the peace" isn't sustainable. Kids see everything.

So maybe one day I'll share more, but for now I choose to heal in private and work on what I can — me.

Here are my 30 days of self-care journal prompts to get you started on your own journey.

1. What Is Your Favorite Color and Why?
2. List 3 Things You're Grateful For This Week.
3. What Is Your Dream Vacation? How Will It Feel To Go?
4. What Is Your First Memory?
5. What Are Some Things You'd Like To Tell Your Younger Self? Write it in letter form if easier.
6. What Makes You Feel Safe and Comforted?
7. Write Out A Problem or Situation That Is Bothering You. What happened? How did it leave you feeling? How do you wish you handled it? Why is it hard to let go? What can you do to let it go?
8. What Are You Most Proud Of?
9. What Are 3 Things You Want To Accomplish This Year? Why? How Will It Feel When You Do?
10. What Was The Most Challenging Thing You Experienced As A Child? What lessons did you learn? What emotions does it bring up now?
11. What Are Three Qualities You Love About Yourself?
12. What Makes You Feel Joy?
13. What Is A Secret Talent You Have? Why do you keep it hidden? How did you learn it?
14. What Is A Boundary You Need To Set For More Peace In You Life?
15. What Are Your Personal Values And How Do They Benefit You?
16. What Was Your Most Positive Moment Today?
17. Set A Word Of Intention For The Month? Why did you choose it? What do you hope to accomplish with it over the next month?
18. How Would You Rate Your Overall Mental Healthy Right Now? Why? What is contributing to that feeling?
19. Who Do You Look Up To? Why? What values of theirs can you incorporate into your daily life?
20. What Is Your Favorite Thing To Do?
21. What Is Something You Are Looking Forward To? Why?
22. How Did You Honor Your Values This Week?
23. What Did You Learn About Yourself Yesterday or Last Week?
24. Do You Have A Lucky Number or Symbol? Why? How did it become lucky?
25. What Is A Lie You're Telling Yourself?
26. Do You Feel You Can Be Yourself Around People You're Close With? Why? If not, what can you start to do to be more authentically you?
27. What Is A Common Self-Sabotaging Habit I have? What can I do to replace it?
28. Who Do I Want To Be? Tomorrow, nest year, the future?
29. What Is A Hobby You've Always Wanted To Learn? What is stopping you? What is one step you can take to start?
30. What Have You Learned About Yourself Since Starting Journaling?