Why You Should be Journaling for Self Love
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We all know that self-love is important, but it’s hard to make time for ourselves.
Our lives are busy and we have a lot of things on our plates. It can be hard to find the time or energy to do something just for us.
Journaling is an easy way to take care of yourself every day. Even if you’re too busy to go out and get a massage, journaling will help you relax and relieve stress so you feel better about yourself – even when life gets crazy! You’ll look forward to writing in your journal each day because it will give you a chance to reflect on your thoughts, feelings, accomplishments, dreams, and goals. Plus this daily practice will become part of your routine so making time for self-care won’t seem like such an impossible task!
Use Your Journal for Self Care
Start by making your journal part of your daily routine. Set aside just five minutes each day to sit down and write about anything that’s on your mind. If you’re feeling stressed out, use this time to jot down everything that’s bothering you so you can put it behind you for the rest of the day.
If that seems like too much time, try using your journal as a way to unwind before bed. If you’re feeling anxious about something that happened during the day, write down your thoughts and feelings and then let them go. This will help you sleep better and feel calmer every night because you’ll be able to resolve those problems instead of keeping them in your head.
Your journal doesn’t have to stay blank you can use it to record your accomplishments, any obstacles you’ve overcome, and anything that has made you feel proud about yourself. It’s a great way to have a positive dialogue with yourself so you can appreciate all the good things in your life! This is how simple journaling for self love can be.
Self Love Journal Ideas + Tips
Make your journal something that you enjoy! You can decorate it however you want or keep it simple if that works better for you. There are some great art supplies such as pens, stickers, and pattern papers that can really dress up your pages.
Include photos or drawings in your journal if that helps! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just use what you have available.
If you keep having the same problems, it’s time to brainstorm solutions and write down a plan of action. Once that hurdle is crossed, your journal will be a great place to track your progress.
There are no set prompts, things to write about, or “correct ways” to journal for self love. The biggest thing to remember is to focus on gratitude and positivity. Vent and spill your feelings, but always take a moment to reflect on what good can come from the moment.
What Can I Write About in My Journal The Expresses Who I Am?
1. What makes you feel most alive?
2. How can you focus more on living in the present moment?
3. Describe how it feels to be happy with yourself just the way you are today.
4. How do you define success for yourself?
Explore Your Feelings and Observe Yourself While You Feel Them
Take the time to think about your feelings. Write them down on paper without censoring them and without judgement. This is a time to really dig deep and see what’s going on inside. This will allow you to process emotions as they happen rather than bottling them up.
This isn’t the time to be your own harshest critic. Although some things you write might not be very positive, try and always end on a positive note. If you’re contemplating something that’s sad or unpleasant, acknowledge it without writing yourself off as a failure. You can even tack on a “however” and follow up with how the situation could improve eventually if you put in some work.
Later, you can go back and reread what you have written. Analyze your thoughts. Write notes in the margins about your ah-ha moments, things that have changed, or how your past feelings make you feel now.
Clear Your Mind and Just Be
If you find that journaling your emotions or an answer to a prompt is too overwhelming, try scaling it back by starting with just 5 minutes of freewriting practice. Set a timer and write down whatever pops into your mind without stopping or censoring anything.
This is an exercise in mindfulness, which has many benefits of its own. It leads to less stress, better decision-making skills, and increased focus. If you’re feeling scattered try “just writing” for five minutes and see if it helps bring you back to your center.
Forgive Yourself: Let The Past Go and Be Free to Live in the Present
We all make mistakes and bad choices. When we beat ourselves up for our errors and failures, we’re only hurting ourselves and making it harder to move forward. Try forgiving yourself instead of dwelling on the past.
Writing down everything you’ve done wrong is a great starting point for this exercise. Once you have everything out on paper, try letting the bad stuff go. Ask yourself what you can learn from the situation and what you could do better next time. Beating yourself up or dwelling on negativity will only make you feel worse, so focus instead on the things you have learned and how they can make a positive impact going forward.
There is no word count or prompt list to follow when it comes to writing for self love. The most important thing is just that you’re doing it—and doing what feels right for you. Use your journal to work through problems, meditate on positivity, and make plans for the future. No matter what you write about, think of this practice as time spent taking care of yourself—and that’s really the most valuable thing you can do.
One of my favorite ways to journal and release the past is to use this moon phase journal.
Indulge in Your Dreams: Think Big, Set Goals, and Take Action
Setting goals can be a great way to take charge of your life. There are countless types of personal goals you could set. Some common examples include losing excess weight, getting out of debt, getting fit, cleaning up your diet, taking up a new hobby or starting a business. These are all versions of self-care and self-love.
Goal setting is a proactive process. It’s about saying you’re going to change something in your life and taking steps to make it happen. Once you’ve decided on the goal, write down why this is important to you. Why would achieving this goal matter? How would it impact your life?
Writing out the reasons behind each goal ensures that you’re not just doing it because someone else wants you to, or for the sake of checking things off a list. You’re truly committing to these goals because they are important to you.
Write down action steps that will lead to your goal. These are realistic ways that you can achieve your dreams without setting yourself up for failure. What do you need to start doing today? What is the first step?
Keep this list somewhere you can see it. If you want to set a reminder for yourself on your phone, write out the date and time like: “Remind me: Monday, 10AM – call hairdresser.”
11 Self-Love Journal Prompts
- How can you build on your strengths rather than focusing on your weaknesses?
- What do you love and appreciate about yourself?
- What makes you feel beautiful?
- Make a list of all the things you are grateful for.
- What do you want out of life?
- When was the last time you were truly happy? What made you happy then?
- How can you be more mindful in your daily life?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years from now?
- What’s a situation where your emotions got the best of you? How can you change your response next time something like that happens?
- Think about a time when you felt a sense of accomplishment. What did you do to receive that feeling?
- Think about when you were at your best; what was going on in the background and how can you recreate those feelings in your day-to-day life?
Self-Love Affirmations (write them over and over in your journal)
An affirmation is a sentence that expresses a belief about oneself. The most common type of affirmation is one where you consciously repeat a statement with the intent that doing so changes your state of mind and as a result shifts how you perceive events.
Instead of feeling as though failure lies at the end of every endeavor, think of affirmations as a way to be more optimistic and confident in yourself. Believe these positive things about you and watch how they will change your life.
I am whole and complete.
My body is healthy and strong.
There’s nothing I can’t handle.
My mind is powerful and focused.
I deserve love and respect from myself and others.
Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better.
I express my creativity freely and joyfully.
I am enough and exactly where I need to be.
There is peace in every day, even the difficult ones.
I choose happiness no matter how I feel.
I love and forgive myself completely.
The world is full of abundance and opportunity.
My time is my own and I cherish it deeply.
How often should I write?
The frequency with which you choose to write is entirely up to you. Some people like to keep their journal handy and compose daily entries, while others only do it when the mood strikes.
Journaling for self love can be done anywhere; anytime is a good time. You don’t have to go out of your way or carve out a block of time with your day planner to do this. If you prefer, you can journal in the morning when you wake up or right before bed at night.
How to Start Journaling for Self Love?
Remember, the possibilities for journaling are endless. The purpose of this activity is to help you think through your thoughts and, as a result, feel better about yourself.
It’s important that you believe what you write down! If something doesn’t serve any positive benefit in your life, then it isn’t worthy of being written down – no matter how much you think it is.
Remember, these words are only as powerful as you believe them to be. If you start journaling and find that the activity isn’t for you, there’s no need for guilt or disappointment – simply choose something else and keep trying new things until you find what works for your needs.
How Did You Learn to Love Yourself?
I learned to love myself through a series of experiences in which I realized that no one, not even my own parents or children, would love me unconditionally.
My favorite quote says it perfectly, “You can’t really love someone else unless you really love yourself first”.
Everyone has flaws and imperfections so there’s no reason to avoid loving yourself because you think you aren’t enough. You are always enough and every day is a new opportunity to be better than the person who you were before.
Why is Self Love so Important?
It can be hard to find time for self-care when you’re dealing with the demands of everyday life. Even if you do have some free time, it’s also easy to fall into unproductive habits like scrolling through social media or watching TV. The key is finding a positive habit that will stick and provide real benefits in your life.
Self-love journaling is one way that has helped many people build healthy habits around their own well-being and happiness. By committing to writing down three things each day that make them happy, they are able to focus on what truly matters most in their lives while still fitting self-care into even the busiest schedules!