30 journal prompts for self-discovery

What do you lose track of time doing?

e.g.Browsing neighborhoods I want to visit on a map app

Where do you feel most at ease?

e.g.A quiet café on a weekday morning

What do you happily spend money on?

e.g.Good bedding, concert tickets

What did you love as a kid that you still love?

e.g.Reading by the window when it rains

What’s the last thing you saved because you liked it?

e.g.A photo of a house with a tiny yard

A totally free Saturday — how would you spend it?

e.g.Sleep in, a long walk, a movie at night

What won’t you easily give up?

e.g.My sleep

What do you admire in other people?

e.g.People who show up on time

What do the situations that make you angry have in common?

e.g.Plans changing with no explanation

Which compliment means the most to you?

e.g.“Easy to work with,” more than “detail-oriented”

Money, time or people — which do you most want to protect right now?

e.g.Time

Do you have a personal rule?

e.g.No important replies when I’m upset

Three things that made you who you are

e.g.Moving out, changing jobs, my sister being born

The best decision you’ve made

e.g.Switching majors

A choice you’d make differently

e.g.Working through being sick

How did you get through a hard stretch?

e.g.A walk at the same time every day

A habit you’ve kept for years

e.g.Tracking my spending

What would you tell yourself ten years ago?

e.g.You don’t have to keep anyone else’s pace.

How would your friends describe you in one word?

e.g.The planner

Do people give you energy or take it?

e.g.One-on-one gives it; big groups take it.

Is asking for help easy for you?

e.g.No. I ask when I’m almost done.

What do you usually do in a conflict?

e.g.Step back, then talk the next day

What do you most want from people close to you?

e.g.That they ask before I have to say it

What do you tend to give people?

e.g.Restaurant tips, and listening to the end

What does a good day look like a year from now?

e.g.A morning workout, work starting at nine

Something you want to do but keep putting off

e.g.Living in another city for a month

A skill you wish you had right now

e.g.Speaking Spanish without freezing up

What does “enough” look like to you?

e.g.Healthy, with weekends off

How would you like people to remember you?

e.g.Someone easy to be around

What do you need to hear right now?

e.g.You’re doing fine. Rest a little.