Learning How to Love Yourself More with 8 Journaling Prompts

PUBLISHED Jul 9th, 2020 & UPDATED ON Feb 14th, 2023

There are a lot of things that make you you. And learning to embrace all of these things is a hefty task. Sure, it may be easy to embrace the qualities you like about yourself, but it may be more difficult to embrace and accept those qualities that you don’t like. Maybe there are things you push down because you really just don’t want to think about them. And maybe there are things that you are constantly thinking about, things that consume your mind on a daily basis. If only there were a happy medium. Is there a secret formula for how to love yourself more??

No. But there is journaling and journaling will help you sort through your emotions and come up with a plan to start accepting and embracing your whole self – every part of you. Because, after all, without any one of those parts, you wouldn’t be you! And being you is pretty cool.

As you dive thru the following prompts, let yourself explore your thoughts and try to welcome them with acceptance, not criticism. Your journal should be a judgement-free zone and should be a space where you practice self-compassion. Try to treat yourself as you would treat any friend going through the same situation – with love and understanding.

Ready? Grab your pen + paper.

Happy writing!

1. Define what it means to “love yourself.”

What does the concept mean to you? It will likely mean something different to everyone. Is it positive self-talk? Is it going out in public without a figurative mask on?

Before you can start learning how to love yourself, you have to know what that means for you. It would be like trying to learn tennis without knowing what tennis is. Automatically more difficult.

2. Name one thing that makes you feel each of these emotions: happy, frustrated, sad, inspired.

Every single person feels every single one of these emotions, has good days and bad days. The better you know yourself, the better you will be able to embrace the wave of emotions that comes with being a human being. Feel free to expand the list by adding other emotions.

3. What is your favourite thing about yourself?

It could be a physical trait, a personality trait, or anything in between. What is something you love about yourself? Something that makes you proud? Don’t be shy. Go ahead, brag!

4. Name something about yourself that you consider a flaw and turn it into a strength.

Again, it could be a physical trait, a personality trait, or a habit. Why do you consider it to be a flaw? How can you start to appreciate and embrace that aspect of yourself? Write down tangible steps or goals so that you can measure your progress.

5. Talk about a time in your life when you felt most like yourself.

What were you doing? Who were you with? What stars aligned to make you feel like the most authentic version of yourself? And finally, how can you make that happen again? Because there’s something very freeing about being yourself. No guards up, no fear of judgement, no second-guessing. Just being.

6. What would you do if you could do anything?

We all have something that we’ve always wanted to do, deep down inside – if money wasn’t an option and you knew you couldn’t fail, if there was no fear, judgement, or fear of judgement. What would you do if you could do anything in the world? (Psst… you can!) Listen to what your heart and mind are telling you. Listening to yourself is one way you can start embracing everything you are, not just everything you want to be or thought you would be.

7. What do you value most in life? How can you prioritize it?

We often know what we value but fail to make it a priority in our lives. Write down tangible steps you can take to embrace what is important to you.

8. What is an excuse you use often?

Why do you use this excuse? Part of embracing yourself is knowing yourself and knowing why you do what you do. For example, if your excuse is that you don’t have time, do you really not have time? Or do you just not make time? How can you start holding yourself accountable when you want to resort to that excuse?

We hope that these prompts will help you learn to appreciate the beauty of being you. There are over 7 billion (?!) people in the world but there is only one you.

Think about that for a second. No more of this one in a million business. You’re one in seven billion! And that is something worth celebrating. Cheers!