*There may be affiliate links in this post. (Please see our legal pages, link in the footer, for more information.)
Ever felt worthless, ugly, stupid, too much, too big, too small, too quiet, not enough…
Let’s face it, we’ve probably all felt something along those lines at some point.
A little bit (or a lot) of hatred to ourselves.
But I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, nothing good comes out of hate.
Hating yourself, even just a tiny part of yourself, is a one-way ticket to sadness, self-esteem issues, and a darn unhappy life.
So today we’re going over one very effective solution to the problem at hand.
Journaling for self-love.
Related Posts:
How to Be a Confident Woman [20 Tips That Transformed My Confidence]
30 Journaling Prompts for Mental Health [Plus FREE Printable]
The Daily Self Care Routine That Helped Me Beat Depression [FREE Printable Checklist]
A free, printable gift to help improve your mental health!
If you are struggling with depression or mental health in general and are looking to improve it, then I have a free gift for you to download that should help!
And that is the daily self-care routine checklist that I use to help me beat depression!
That way you can go over the daily self-care routine yourself and hopefully that will really help you implement those self-care practices that make the biggest difference for me in combating my depression and improving my mental health.
Plus the checklist actually comes with some bonus planning your day printables and they’re just really fun to get your planning on and get your days organized!
You can grab the free checklist and printables by clicking the button below.
What is Self-Love?
As always, I think it’s important we start from the beginning. But if you already know this then just scroll down to get your hands on the journal prompts!
Just like any other kind of love, self-love is hard to explain.
True love is unconditional. It means you appreciate and accept that person, thing, yourself as they are.
I think it’s a much easier concept to get when we think about how much we love our fur babies.
(Sorry if you’re not a pet person…)
I love my cats. They’re naughty, affection, sometimes they bite, sometimes I get up in the morning and the house is carnage, sometimes they’re curled up looking absolutely adorable.
No matter what they do, I still love them and think they are wonderful.
Do you think about yourself like that?
Despite maybe your hair not sitting as it should do you still accept and believe that you are every bit as worthwhile.
What about when you put on 15 pounds? Or when you failed that math test? When you got fired? When you were dumped?
Would you still love your cat in all those situations (not that cats go to work… but you know what I mean)?
Of course. Because that love is unconditional.
It time you started feeling that way about yourself.
How Can I Get Self-Love?
Self-love comes when you accept that you are worthy exactly as you are.
Not if you lose ten pounds, not if you get that promotion, not when you’re dressed up, not when you’re dressed down, not if or when anything.
You just are.
Just by being alive you are incredible, amazing and worthy of self-love.
You don’t earn self-love, you just have to give it to yourself.
Although of course that can be easier said than done hence why today, in this post, we are going over one of the most effective ways to get self-love.
Through journaling.
Benefits of Journaling For Self-Love
Apart from the obvious benefit, that your self-love will improve, there are other benefits self-help journaling brings.
Self-help journaling being journaling about anything related to personal development, as opposed to journaling for creativity or for fun. Although both of these factors can be incorporated into self-help journaling.
Journaling can help you:
- Have increased mindfulness¹
- Higher levels of gratitude
- Increased self-esteem
- Higher levels of self-awareness¹
- Increased levels of productivity¹
- Better emotional control and intelligence¹
- Reduce stress²
- Help you problem solve²
- Improve your relationship with others²
How to Use Journaling For Self-Love and Happiness
If you’ve never journaled before it can be a little overwhelming figuring out how to get started, so in this section, I will go through all the standard journal FAQs.
How do you keep a journal?
Don’t overthink it. Grab a notebook and a pen and carve out 10 to 20 minutes of your day.
Pick a journal prompt (or don’t!) and write whatever comes to mind.
Journaling is about self-exploration so there is no wrong answer.
Just write whatever pops into your head. Ask questions about why you had that thought and write about that. Keep asking questions and go deeper and deeper.
That’s all there is to it. Unwrapping the layers through writing.
How do I start a self-help journal?
If you want to start a self-help journal in particular then it’s probably advisable to use journal prompts specific to the problem or area you want to focus on.
While you could just write, you might not focus enough on the area that you want to work on, which is why prompts are so darn useful.
How can I write about my self-love?
Like I mentioned above, have a good look round and find yourself some self-love journal prompts that really resonate (hint, hint, check out the ones below or download the self-love journal in this post to make it really easy for yourself!)
Then just write whatever comes to mind from that prompt.
I think we often get caught up on if we are journaling “right” but there is no wrong answer in journaling.
It’s something you do just for you. It doesn’t need to be neat, correct or nice to read. It just needs to be your truth.
How do I use self-love journal prompts?
This answer will be very similar to the answer above, but I understand that if you’ve never journaled before it’s not necessarily intuitive.
If it’s your first time choose a journal prompt that isn’t super deep (you can use the deep ones later once you’re used to journaling in general.)
Then think about the prompt for a minute or two, what comes to mind?
Write that down.
At this point, all this stuff might just flow out of you. If so great, let it flow. But don’t worry if it’s not quite as easy as that.
If words aren’t just flowing out of you then ask yourself why you wrote down what you initially wrote, then write down your reason.
Ask yourself if you really believe what you initially wrote, would you like to believe something else, how you think that or those beliefs affect your life…
Just keep asking questions and keep exploring the layers.
If it feels really difficult then it might be worth trying a different journal prompt.
Just remember, there is no wrong way to do this!
46 Journal Prompts for Self Love
Now it’s time for the main attraction, self-love writing prompts that you can use in your journaling.
They start off quite nice and fluffy, and then we go a bit deeper as the list goes on!
But without further ado here’s the list:
- What is your favorite personality trait and why?
- What is your favorite facial feature and why?
- What are you grateful your body can do and why?
- Name three accomplishments in your life and why you are proud of yourself for achieving them.
- How can you bring more joy into your life?
- What does self-love mean to you?
- What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received and how did it make you feel.
- What do you love about yourself?
- Name five things you’re crazy good at.
- What would your perfect day look like?
- How do you help others in your life?
- What makes a person beautiful?
- What makes you feel strong?
- What makes a person worthwhile?
- What’s the best decision you have ever made in your life?
- Doing what makes you happy?
- What do you wish someone would tell you or confirm to you about yourself?
- If you could give your younger self some advice, what would it be?
- If you had to describe yourself to a stranger what would you say? Now describe yourself how you think your best friend would describe you.
- What beliefs do you have that have helped you in life?
- What do you adore about your current life?
- What is your biggest life goal and do you think you can get there?
- If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be and why? And would this really change your life for the better?
- What self-care really makes you feel good about yourself and ready to take on the day/week?
- Do you care what people think about you and why?
- What would your friends say they love about?
- What is a negative belief you have about yourself and should you carry on believing it?
- What is something you’ve done in the past that you should forgive yourself for?
- What are your biggest insecurities about the way you look?
- What are your biggest insecurities about your personality?
- Are there any areas in your life where you need to set more boundaries?
- Do you feel like you ever give too much to other people in your life? If so, why?
- Why do you find it difficult to love yourself as you are right now?
- Is there a compliment that people give you that makes you assume they are lying or saying it because they have to? Why do you think you can’t accept this compliment?
- Do you need to slow down in some areas of your life?
- What are you afraid to speak up about and why?
- What actions make you feel rubbish but you continue to do them anyway? Why do you still do them?
- Do you think you’re a worthwhile person?
- Do you think you’re beautiful?
- When do you feel safe?
- Is there anything in your life you need to let go of? How do you think you can do that?
- If you woke up tomorrow and had the “perfect” body, would anything in your life actually change?
- Do you have any memories that cause you pain or upset? Why do they hurt you and what can you do to begin to heal?
- Why do you deserve happiness?
- What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you? Does it still affect you now and if so what can you do to help the healing?
- What makes you feel stressed, overwhelmed or anxious? Are there things you could be doing in your life to reduce those feelings and are you doing them? If not, why not?
Want to Explore Self-Love a Litte More?
If this post has sparked your interest in self-love and you realize it’s something that you might want to work on a little more I’ve come up with a list of books to help.
Of course, you don’t need to read all of them, but it one does resonate it might be worth giving it a try!
You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
Don’t forget to grab your free, printable gift to help improve your mental health!
If you are struggling with depression or mental health in general and are looking to improve it, then I have a free gift for you to download that should help!
And that is the daily self-care routine checklist that I use to help me beat depression!
That way you can go over the daily self-care routine yourself and hopefully that will really help you implement those self-care practices that make the biggest difference for me in combating my depression and improving my mental health.
Plus the checklist actually comes with some bonus planning your day printables and they’re just really fun to get your planning on and get your days organized!
You can grab the free checklist and printables by clicking the button below.