Journaling questions to break through insights

There is something valuable in the act of writing freely about the stories you tell yourself. Many of them are distorted and blurry visions of the world around you, as you try to navigate everyday life to unfog the view and look ahead with enough belief in the positive nature of the future, which fuels your energy.

“When you tell the truth, your story changes.When your story changes, your life is transformed.”

Mark Matousek

Some call the act of writing freely what’s on your mind journaling. Mark Matousek has a series on the Waking Up app where he provides journaling prompts for insights - exploratory writing that is inherently unedited and following the stream of consciousness in the moment. Below are some journaling prompts he shares:

• Describe 3 roles you play in life and the benefits and drawbacks of each one. Include your honest feelings about each role and do not editorialize your writing; it’s only for yourself.
• Explore how you were viewed as a child. How would you say people perceived you? What messages did your caregivers communicate about who they wanted you to be? How have these assumed beliefs impacted how you view yourself today? Simply describe your lived experience and how it has impacted your sense of self.
• Describe yourself as honestly as possible to somebody you’ve never met and you don’t care about impressing at all. Use simple sentences that describe yourself, without too much elaboration or explanations. Use 4-5 sentences max. Do not edit the description. Once done, consider what characteristics you chose, and reflect on why you chose those instead of others.
• Journal about your secrets. What would the people close to you be most surprised to learn about you if you stopped keeping secrets? Consider the reasons behind your secrets, and what it would look like if you disclosed them freely without resistance and lived a life with no secrets.
• Describe your immediate surroundings in as much detail as possible. What exactly do you see? How are your emotions coloring your view?