How to Explore Journaling Prompts
From The Pen's Nib: Edition 12
Topic: Journaling Prompts
Not every journaling prompt suits every journaler.
When I first started exploring daily journaling prompts to add to gratitude, I used three questions suggested by a journaling friend.
What are you looking forward to today?
What are you dreading today?
Why?
Sticking to the prompt questions for six weeks taught me two lessons.
The first lesson was personal.
I learned I didn’t have something I look forward to every day. Some days are just routine days. There's no single event I'm looking forward to more than anything else in the day. Those days are good.
Not all of my days have something I dread. I discovered this on the weekend. I had nothing to dread. This is a good thing. We shouldn't expect to dread something every day. We should approach each day with a positive mindset.
When I did identify something I was dreading, naming it and telling why diminished its power to cast a shadow over my day. This was a revelation to me. Seeing it in writing made it no longer seem like a big deal.
Leaning into your fears normalizes them. You learn to have more control over the reality of those fears.
Dread is a lesser emotion than fear. The same strategy works to control how you feel about what you dread.
The second lesson was a journaling lesson.
Journaling should change with your needs.
Reflecting on those questions taught me something about myself and what action I could take action to have a positive mindset about the day to come. But after I learned the lesson, the prompt was no longer useful to me.
I realized I dreaded very little in my life, so why take the time to write, “I don’t dread anything today”? The three-question prompt no longer suited my needs. I needed to move on and explore new prompts.
Don’t hesitate to try new prompts. Give them at least two weeks before you abandon them.
Don’t be afraid to move on. Your journaling is all about you, so make it that way.
If you journal, try the same three-question prompt I did:
What are you looking forward to today?
What are you dreading today?
Why?
I would love to hear from you. Do you have a favorite prompt? Leave a comment, and let’s start a conversation.
Thank you for reading.
Until next time,
✍️ Susan
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Items of interest:
📸I love adding a visual interest to my journal. The same is true for my newsletters. Each week will feature a picture I have taken corresponding with the month the edition is published unless otherwise noted. I’ve taken daily pictures since 2020. I have many to share!
📰From The Pen’s Nib is my second newsletter. My first, Pen to Paper, is about gratitude and the good in life. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. It may be for you.