Do you keep a journal? Or want to start? This is the blog post for you. Personal growth can be a long and somewhat grueling process but using our list of personal growth journal prompts can help make it much easier.
Writing in your journal is great for your mental health. Getting your thoughts, ideas, and emotions out onto paper can help you to process and grow as a person.
When I am able to express myself on paper, no holds barred, I release a lot of my stress and anxiety. Our list of Personal Growth Journal Prompts was created to help you reconnect with your self, set exciting goals, and better understand your emotions.
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What is Personal Growth?
Personal growth is the acceptance and development of the self. It’s a path of continual improvement of oneself including happiness, success, skills, emotional awareness and more.
Personal growth and development is different for everyone. We all have different goals, different emotions, and different experiences. By working to better understand ourselves, our minds, and our dreams we can learn to live our happiest/healthiest lives.
How to Use Journal Prompts for Personal Growth:
Journal prompts for personal growth are a powerful tool to help us dig a deeper into our mind, emotions, goals, and dreams.
Why journaling works:
- Assists with problem solving
- Helps you work through and track your emotions
- Reduces Stress
- Works as a Coping Mechanism
- Boosts your mood
- Enhances your sense of self
- Improves your writing skills
Journal Prompts help to get your ideas and creativity flowing. They also act as therapeutic guideline to tackle targeted emotions or stress points in our lives.
Suffering from anxiety for many years has made me very self-aware, and sometimes I can get stuck inside my own head. Journal prompts take me outside of that and allow me to better express myself in a different way.
Choose a journal prompt from the list below (in any order) and you’ll be taking the right steps forward on your personal growth journey.
How to Get the Most Out of Journaling
In order to get the most out of your journal prompts the following tips are great reminders.
Your journal is for you- Write whatever you want or need to in your journal. It doesn’t have to be beautiful or to read like a Hemingway novel. Your journal is for you only, so try not to put too many rules or restrictions on the way you journal. Don’t get hung up on spelling errors, crossing things out or skipped pages.
Re-read your journal- And review your past emotions, experiences, memories, and moods.
Date your entries- This allows you to better track and outlines your emotional timeline. Dating your entries helps to improve reflection and identify patterns.
Be Honest- Your journal is just for you and the writing inside will reflect that. Go slow and process the emotions and entries that are harder for you to write. Being honest with yourself will improve the benefits of your journaling journey.



35 Personal Growth Journal Prompts
- Where do I want to be in 5 years?
- My happiest memory is….
- One way I could love myself more is by….
- Write yourself a letter forgiving you for something that has happened in your past.
- What is something I need to let go of? Why am I holding onto it?
- Write down three things that cause you anxiety. Brainstorm 1–2 ways you can combat these triggers when they come up.
- What does self-care mean to you? How do practice this in your daily life?
- What is your best quality?
- Create a list of 35 things that make you happy.
- What is something you are afraid to accomplish?
- Where is this fear coming from?
- Create an itinerary for your “dream day.”
- What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses? How can I work to improve on these?
- What is something that I’ve struggled to follow through with? Why do I think that is?
- Write a personal mission statement for who you want to be and how you want to live your life.
- Am I facing real obstacles when it comes to __________?
- Am I spending my time in a way that makes me feel happy?
- One thing I will achieve this week/month/year is _________.
- What positive changes have I made in the last year?
- List 15 things you’ve accomplished.
- _________ derails my productivity. I can take these steps: ______, _________, and _________ to change that.
- How can I show others more love and positivity each day?
- List 5 things that you’ve always wanted to do but are outside of your comfort zone.
- How can I feel more fulfilled in my day to day life?
- Why is personal growth important to me?
- When do I feel most confident?
- Create a list of the different types of person you want to be. For example: a confident writer, a loyal friend, a thoughtful daughter, etc.
- What unhealthy habits do I need to change?
- What healthy habit do I want to start?
- Make a list of 20 things that inspire you.
- Create a list of 10 mantras you can use as daily affirmations.
- Describe the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone.
- Where in your life do you need to start saying no?
- What boundaries do you need to put into place to live a happier life?
- Describe an activity you’ve always wanted to try and why.
Journaling Essentials
One of the best things about journaling is that it require no fancy equipment. But, I’ll be the first to admit that a cute journal and a great pen can make journaling a lot more exciting. Here are a few journaling essentials that I love!
Journaling for Mental Health
Part of personal development is working on our mental and physical health. Due to the stress reducing properties of journaling it is ofter used as a therapeutic tool. Mental health is something I’m very passionate about and journaling has been a huge part of my improving my depression and anxiety.
Use my huge list of Journal Prompts for Anxiety and Depression to dive even deeper into your personal growth journey.
This is wonderful! I know I have to do better myself with reflecting and processing my feelings. These are great prompts!