Do you feel like others are starting to make sense of your life, while you are still unsure of your purpose and direction?
When I was 20, I thought that when I hit my 30s, I would have all my ducks in order and every detail of my life would be in order.
If anything, your 30s have taught you that all unexpected twists and turns are part of the journey.
Perhaps it’s a good thing that things are never set in stone. Because that means we are constantly evolving and learning more about ourselves as the years go by.
But that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with feelings of uncertainty and confusion.
why do we feel anxious
Part of the problem is that we’re looking for the “right” direction, or something that will make everything fall into place.
But as soon as we fall into the mindset of “I have to fix things,” we stop listening to ourselves.
Instead, we listen to what others tell us we should do and expect them to give us the answers we desperately seek.
We begin to compare our lives to others and impose unrealistic goals on ourselves. A goal that wasn’t originally ours.
If you can relate, stop for a moment and see what the current version of yourself wants. You know, your version of this moment.
To help you with that, I’m sharing 20 journal prompts that will help you come back to yourself, find inner clarity, and uncover the answers you’ve been looking for.
A real job? Listen and find out the answer.
“To know more about this life, you need to know more about yourself.” – Nitin Namdeo
How to use these prompts
Find a time when you can be alone without interruptions (I know it’s hard these days).
Before answering these questions, we recommend doing a quick meditation or listening to calming music. We’re so overstimulated these days that our brains need to be as calm as possible if we want to listen to our inner guidance.
Then answer the questions below. Choose a few or feel free to answer all. You can write your answers as bullet points or mini-essays, or if you want to voice your ideas, try using voice notes.
Try not to overthink the answer or convince yourself that the answer is unrealistic. The less judgment you make, the more connected you will be to yourself.
20 diary prompts for inner clarity
1. What can you talk about for hours on end?
2. What would you like to know more about? What rabbit holes do you go down when looking for information?
3. What have people told you that you are good at?
4. What have people asked you for help with? (This could be physical help, or something like listening or offering support)
5. What can you confidently teach someone?If aliens came to Earth who knew nothing about human life, what would you teach them?
6. What do you do every day that makes you feel comfortable?Think about your work, home, habits, etc.
7. What do you value most in life?
8. What other people’s behavior annoys you? What bothers you about their behavior? This may indicate something you don’t value.
9. What three areas of your life are most important to you right now? Why did you choose them?
10. If you could do anything right now without worrying about money, judgment, or responsibility, what would you do?
11. What was your childhood like? How have people described you?
12. Think back to who you were five years ago. How has it changed since then? What did you get better at?
13. Imagine meeting your future self 5 years from now. What would they tell you to keep focused on going forward? What would they tell you to let go of? Imagine yourself in this future.
14. Who do you admire? What do you like about that person? What do you have in common with that person?
15. Think of a time when you felt a sense of accomplishment or pride. What happened leading up to that moment? What did you accomplish? Why did it feel good?
16. What calms you down and relaxes you? Why do these things make you feel that way?
17. Text a friend and ask them to describe you in 5 words. How do you feel about their answers? Do you find them accurate or surprised?
18. If you know your birth time, use this tool to find your Rising/Ascendant sign. Your rising sign may indicate your role in this life. what is your signature? What does that symbol represent? Does it feel accurate? (For example, my Gemini is all about communication and sharing ideas).
19. What problem have you solved or overcome in your life? What helped you deal with it? This is an indicator that you can help others.
20. Are there any connections between the answers you wrote down? Do you have a better understanding of who you are and what you want, at least for now? Do you find answers you didn’t realize before? Look for repetitions of words or phrases that may occur.
What did you learn about yourself today?
Finally, try not to get too obsessed with finding the “right” answer.
This journey to understanding yourself is a lifelong endeavor, so come back to these questions as often as you need.
