Self-love is a very important aspect of life, and without it, you have virtually nothing. Now, that doesn’t mean that you should go off and be conceited.
What it means is that you love yourself enough to do what is right and to have enough love to pour back into the world.
If you’ve been struggling with this, then journal prompts for self love can be very beneficial for you!
I’ve compiled a list of 100+ of the best journal prompts to bring more self-love and self-care into your life. You don’t have to do all of these at once; I recommend starting with 2 or 3.
With that being said I present to you the best journal prompts for self love and self confidence!
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The Importance Of Self Love
1. Helps You Maintain Boundaries
One of the biggest reasons why self-love is so important is because it helps you maintain your boundaries.
When you don’t genuinely love and appreciate yourself, you start to seek that love and validation from others.
When you do that you tend to pretty much go along with whatever they want you to do, even when it doesn’t benefit you and even if you don’t really want to do it.
For example, this could look like you
- Going along with an activity you don’t want to do
- Going to a place you don’t want to go to
- Constantly “compromising” how you feel
There are quotation marks around compromising because by definition compromising is when two parties come to an agreement after BOTH parties have made modifications, not just one.
Does that mean that having self-love means you won’t ever have to compromise? No, but what it does mean is that you will be less likely to put how you feel on the back burner 24/7.
2. You Are Love
Another reason why self-love is so important is because that is a part of your entire being. You were made from love, and your source is love.
1 John 4:7-8 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Every one who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
The same way that most of your physical body is made up of water and if you did not supply yourself with water you would not be able to survive is the same way that your spiritual body is made of love and if you did not give/receive love you would not be able to survive.
You are love. Even if you may not feel that way at this moment and even if you may not see it yet, I promise you are love and I promise you are loved.
3. Helps You Do What Is Right
Having self-love also helps you do what is right. What is right?
Doing things in good conscience. Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. Can you achieve those things without having self-love? Of course, you can, but is it likely? Nope.
You see, the more you continue to increase the love you have within you, the more wrong it feels not to do those things.
You don’t want to do something to someone (including yourself) that is in bad faith. It just feels wrong.
4. Decreases The Chances Of Letting Someone Take Advantage Of You
Self-love also helps keep you from being taken advantage of. When you love yourself you will also naturally start to look out for yourself more, and when you do this you will start to find that some people in your life may have been taking advantage of you.
Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us (it happened to me).
If you find yourself in this situation, don’t panic, just watch. Watch not only how that person is treating you in the future but also just watch their behavior in general.
And when I say watch, I don’t mean judge. Be careful not to judge, criticize, condemn, or complain about that person. Just watch.
5. Helps You Maintain Taking Care Of Yourself
Self-love and self-care go hand in hand, my friend. The more you increase your self-love the more you want to take care of yourself inside and out.
Self-care doesn’t always have to be something lavish either. Sometimes it’s just taking an Epsom salt bath or giving yourself a well-deserved break.
If you’re looking for some affordable self-care ideas, I’ve got you girl!
6. Increases Your Self Confidence
As your self-love goes up, your self-confidence goes up right with it.
Having self-confidence can help you achieve your goals, bring more opportunities, strengthen your relationships, overcome challenges, and have an optimistic outlook.
How do you increase your self-confidence?
- Get closer to God
- Take good care of yourself
- Surround yourself with good energy
If you want the full answer check out my article on How To Manifest Confidence And Improve Self Esteem.
7. Gives You Love To Pour Back Into Other People
The final reason why self-love is so important is because it helps you give back to the world, and one of the best ways to give back is by pouring love into others.
Many of us are taught to hold off using the word “love” for special occasions or special people but that turned out to be very far from helpful.
Everyone needs love and everyone deserves love.
Even if you may not agree with that person’s actions or decisions, that doesn’t mean that person doesn’t deserve love. That doesn’t mean you have to like that person but you should love them.
And we all know how the saying goes, “You can’t pour from an empty cup”.
You are going to have a difficult time giving love to your partner, family, friends, etc if you don’t have love within yourself.
A Healthy Amount Of Self Love Vs Too Much Self Love
Now that we know the importance of self-love I want to touch on a misconception about self-love.
Some people believe that self-love automatically means that you have an unhealthy amount of self-love.
Even when you look up the definition of self-love, you may come across the words “narcissist” or “narcissistic”, and I must clear something up.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a mental disorder where someone has an exceptionally high sense of self importance, needs/seeks a high amount of attention, and cannot understand/care about other people’s feelings, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Although people with narcissistic personality disorder may have a mask of self-confidence, they typically have a low sense of self-worth and are easily distressed by criticism.
Self-love, on the other hand, is the love of self such as an appreciation of one’s worth and attention to one’s own happiness or well-being, according to Merriam-Webster.
So, is there such a thing as having an excessive amount of self-love? Yes, but does that mean that you are automatically going to have an excessive amount of self-love? No.
Everything requires a balance, and as long as you’re keeping yourself in check and reminding yourself that you are not the only one worthy of love and affection then you’ll be a-okay.
TLDR;
- Too much self-love = you love yourself and only yourself, you’re not really concerned with anyone else, and you don’t care to give back love unless it benefits you in some form.
- A healthy amount of self-love = you love yourself enough to respect your boundaries and you pour that same love into others to share the love.
Journal Prompts For Self Love
- Describe a time when you felt truly loved.
- What brings me joy? How can I incorporate more of that in my week?
- What makes me me?
- When was the last time I felt like my boundaries were crossed? How did I react to it?
- What makes me feel loved?
- Who in my life shows me appreciation?
- Do I show myself enough appreciation?
- How do I like to be shown appreciation? (through compliments, notes, gifts, etc)
- What are 3 things you love about your body?
- What could I use more of in my life?
- When was the last time I made time for self-care?
- What is something I need to make peace with?
- What is one small step I can take to show myself some love?
- Are there any new boundaries I need to set?
- How do I feel when I have to set boundaries with people?
- Do I look out for myself enough?
- What food can I nourish my body with this week?
- Describe your inner dialogue. Is it more positive or negative?
- Do you consider yourself to be a perfectionist?
- What are 3 strengths you’re proud to have?
- Do I speak up for myself enough? If not, where do you think this comes from?
- What is 1 habit that I can stand to let go of?
- What are 2 habits I want to add to my life?
- What is my favorite self-care activity?
- What are 3 things that make me happy?
- When was the last time I bought myself some flowers?
Journal Prompts For Self Confidence
- What is one specific thing that makes you feel good about yourself?
- What does having a high sense of self-esteem look like to you?
- What is your most attractive quality? What is your most attractive feature?
- If you are an overthinker, what do you tend to overthink about?
- When do you feel the most joy?
- Who is someone in your life that has made you feel beautiful?
- Describe how you feel when you look in the mirror. Do you tend to focus on the positive or the negative?
- In what ways could you shift your perspective on things to be more positive?
- In what ways could you show your body more appreciation?
- What instantly cheers you up?
- Am I hanging out with people who bring up my insecurities?
- What is something you do good?
- Visualize yourself receiving the best compliment you’ve ever heard. What would that person have said? Are you willing to start saying this to yourself?
- What is a fact that always puts things into perspective for you?
- In what ways would your life be different if you had half the insecurities you have now?
- What is an insecurity that I struggle with?
- What is an insecurity I’ve overcome in the past?
- Is there anything I need to forgive myself for? If so, what is one small thing I can do to move in the path of forgiveness?
- How would your closest friends describe you?
- When do I feel the most insecure? How can I incorporate less of this into my life?
Related: How To Manifest Confidence And Improve Self Esteem
Journal Prompts For Self Worth
- What does someone having self-worth look like to you?
- What is one fear you want to overcome?
- What is a recent accomplishment you’ve made (big or small)?
- What is one thing you’ve done that’s made you proud?
- If your self-worth increased by 25%, in what ways would your life change?
- What are 2 skills you’re proud to have?
- Who is someone whose life would completely change if you were no longer here?
- What is one way that you have shown resilience?
- Describe a time when you felt unworthy. What would this version of you today say to yourself at that time?
- What is something that instantly brings a smile to your face?
- What is something that you have gone through that you can use to help other people?
- What is something ordinary that brings you joy?
- What are 3 great qualities about you?
- What am I ready to let go of?
- What is a challenge you have overcome in the past?
- List 5 things you are worthy of.
- What is a good memory that you share with someone else that you hold close to your heart?
- What qualities do you admire in other people that you actually have too?
- What is one small thing you can do today to show yourself that you are worthy of love?
- Visualize a version of you who does not care about the opinion of others for 2 minutes. Describe how it felt.
- What would your ideal day look like if you had no fear at all?
- Are there any negative self-talk patterns that you could let go of?
- What are 3 things I’m grateful for today?
- What is one small thing you can do to let go of what others think of you?
- What is one way you can celebrate your strengths?
Other Ways To Increase Self Love
While I would love for you to use these journal prompts for self love you don’t have to use them in order to increase self-love. It is not the end-all-be-all.
There are several other ways to increase your self-love which include:
-
- Affirmations
- Smiling more
- Online-Therapy
- Determine and set your boundaries
- Celebrate your wins
- Stop being so hard on yourself
Read More: 95 Powerful Self Healing Journal Prompts (Game-Changing)
How To Effectively Journal
1. Journal Somewhere Quiet
If you want to get the full effect of really letting your thoughts run wild on the paper then I recommend journaling somewhere quiet and free from distractions.
This could be
- At the library
- In the morning before everyone gets up
- In your car
Pro Tip: I recommend physically writing your answers to your journal prompts for self love, or any journaling for that matter, because physically writing has better effects than typing. No joke.
2. Don’t Be Too Hard On Yourself
Some of you may be wondering, “What do you mean don’t be hard on yourself?”, and I will tell you.
When you’re journaling (mainly with free writing), it can be easy to get stumped and not know what you want to write. This is totally normal and more common than you think.
In times like these, I want to tell you that it’s important that you go easy on yourself and remember this is not a race.
Journaling is supposed to be a 100% safe space for you, not another thing where you go super hard on yourself to push out content. Vibe with it, be nice to yourself and relax.
If you don’t know what to say just write something, and if you still don’t know what to say then come back to it later. It’s okay.
3. Be Consistent With Journaling
Being consistent with journaling actually isn’t the same as being consistent with most things.
With journaling you don’t have to do it every single day because to be quite honest there will be days where you don’t have the capacity to write.
There will also be days when you have other priorities you have to get done.
So while you do want to be consistent (as in you push yourself to hit your goals with journaling), it’s not something you have to do every single day of the week.
If you have a schedule where you can squeeze in a 5-minute journaling session in the morning, then go for it! But if you don’t then 3x a week will also work too. Even once a week will work.
Just be consistent with it.
4. Keep It Simple In The Beginning
You also don’t want to overdo it either, especially in the beginning. Don’t commit to doing 10 journal prompts a day because it’s more than likely going to lead to burnout.
Keep it simple and try to make it fun.
I suggest starting with 1-2 journal prompts a few days a week. Nothing too serious yet still super effective. I also recommend changing up the pen color you use for each prompt. This is one small way that I keep journaling fun for me.
Of course, eventually, I do have to repeat colors but it’s still super cute to look back on all the colors I have in my journal from me showing up for myself.
Sidenote: I love a lot of colors and lights so this may just be a me thing or it may be a me and you thing, you never know until you try it.
5. Use An Actual Journal
This last tip is optional because you don’t have to have a journal. You can just use journal prompts for self love with loose leaf paper and still see success.
However, it is extremely nice to have one. It decreases being overwhelmed because everything is in one place and it honestly makes journaling a little more fun.
When you’re starting out it doesn’t have to be anything special.
When I first started, I used a cheap journal that I found at the store (that has now since fallen apart) and whatever writing utensil I had. Nothing special, nothing fancy.
Now if you’re looking for a noiiice journal, then come in close because I have found the most amazing journal I have ever laid eyes on.
It has quality pages, cute designs, and plenty of journals to choose from.
And get this, it’s environmentally friendly! They design their journals with 100% cotton-sew binds and 100% cotton ribbon so it’s completely plastic-free and biodegradable. You can check them out here.
Conclusion On Journal Prompts For Self Love
Journal prompts for self love can be a great addition to your morning or evening routine. It’s a simple yet effective way to increase self-love and positivity.
Although some may view self-love as a negative thing, I want to remind you that it doesn’t have to be a negative.
There is a difference between having too much self love and a healthy amount of self love. Loving yourself, and others is extremely important to not only your development but for the world.
For what would this world be if there was absolutely no love? It probably wouldn’t even exist.
So with that being said, I want to say thank you for being here and thank you for showing up for yourself.
I hope you found at least a few journal prompts for self-love. Comment below which ones were your favorite, and I will catch ya later!
Peace
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