A few days ago, I shared 15 journal prompts for peeling back the layers of our very complex selves.

Today, I’m sharing 20 more prompts to spark self-discovery.

  • Write about your favorite activities and hobbies as a child. Do you want to return to them in adulthood? How can you make that happen?
  • Write about the self-doubts that keep returning.
  • Write about a dream that keeps recurring.
  • Write about what brings you comfort and calm.
  • Write about your favorite activities to do alone.
  • Write the truest sentence that you know.
  • Write about the words you’d tell your 18-year-old self.
  • Write about what you see in the mirror.
  • Write about the work you love.
  • Write about the words you need to hear.
  • Write what you’re curious about. What would you like to learn? What would you like to discover or rediscover?
  • Write about the tastes, scents and surroundings that you’re hungry for.
  • Write about your favorite season. Write the details that you love. Write about why that season captures you.
  • Write about what you’d make with your hands, if only you had the skills.
  • Write about your favorite way to celebrate.
  • Write about your favorite jokes.
  • Write about a big moment in your life.
  • Write about what you don’t know about yourself. How can you discover it?
  • Write about one story you used to tell yourself that’s different today. For instance, I had many stories around weakness. Namely, I was convinced that I was weak physically and emotionally. I also had stories around deserving. I didn’t think I deserved certain things because I wasn’t pretty enough or smart enough or thin enough. Every day I’m revising these stories. Every day I’m realizing how inaccurate they really were. Every day I’m learning that they don’t capture the complexities of my being (or yours). Remember that you’re the storyteller, the narrator. In other words, you’re in charge of the stories you create, revise and dismantle.
  • Write about what you’d like to be remembered for.

When you’re writing give yourself as much time (or as little time) as you like. Write when you first wake up. Write as you’re getting ready for bed.

Write as you’re sipping tea or listening to music. Write in a coffee shop. Write as you’re sitting in the park, breathing in the cool air.

Write whenever, wherever, however you like.