Journal Prompts to Build Self Belief and Inner Strength

If low confidence and self-belief are holding you back, journaling can be a brilliant way to help you become more reflective and self aware.

When you put pen to paper to offload any thoughts or worries, it not only acts like an emotional brain-dump, but it can also be very therapeutic.

Journaling provides that personal space to jot down your thoughts and make sense of them just like if you were voicing them to someone you trust. The process of connecting with your thoughts helps you identify those hidden, subconscious thoughts that drive your day to day reactions, feelings and behaviours.

This can help you to:

Gain clarity by cutting through confusion and a busy mind.

Release tension through emptying your mind and making sense of what is really going on.

Identify repetitive thoughts that are causing you to overthink or doubt yourself.

Identify patterns in thinking that are keeping you stuck or impacting your confidence.

Identify negative thoughts and begin to reframe them to ones that are more truthful and helpful.

How Self-Awareness Helps

Noticing the inner beliefs that are driving your thoughts, feelings and behaviours is the first step in being able to change the ones that are no longer helpful.

When you’re self-aware, the patterns and beliefs that are impacting your self-belief and confidence become more obvious.

Through journaling you can use this awareness to begin to challenge and reframe inner beliefs. This can be done freely - without prompts, but for beginners it may be easier to begin with prompted journals so that your thoughts and reflections have a little more direction.

If you’re more confident with journaling, you can use your journal to ask yourself critical questions as you notice thoughts - challenging yourself as you write. 

For example, you notice that something you’ve written isn’t aligned with who you want to be and you challenge it. Then you answer the question you challenged yourself with.

Thought Written: “It’s too hard, I can never do these things…” 

Challenge: “Why do I think this way? Is this true? Has there been a time I have thought this but accomplished it anyway?” 

Challenging Limiting Beliefs

As with the previous example, challenging limiting beliefs is another way that journaling can support personal growth and increase your self-belief.

A common limiting belief is around not believing in yourself or your ability. Use your journal to focus on some of these thoughts, and as before challenge and reframe.

For example:

Belief: “I’m not good enough to be…”

Challenge: “What evidence do you have to prove this belief?”

Reframe: “I am enough as I am. If I find this task hard right now, I know that I am learning and improving along the way”.

A quick reframe like this brings the element of reality into your thoughts. If your inner dialogue is inherently negative and critical, these limiting beliefs and thoughts will be the norm. They're rarely based on truth, and often linked with fear.

While we may not always fully understand where these thoughts developed, what’s important is becoming used to challenging them as they arise.

When I work with my clients in therapy, these things take time. Many of these thoughts have been ingrained for years / decades, so they won't just disappear overnight.

Journaling and challenging / reframing thoughts can feel uncomfortable at first, but once you become more used to standing up for yourself in your mind, and not believing these thoughts, they will eventually lose their power.

 

Building Positive Self-Perception

As you reinforce this awareness of different perspectives, alternative beliefs and thinking patterns, your confidence and self-belief will begin to grow.

Use your journal for sharing your wins, achievements, celebrations and positive experiences. Reflect on your strengths and things that you have done well.

Write about your values and how these show up in your life in a positive way. Focus on your qualities and think about what you are proud of yourself for. 

This may feel weird at first, but mixing up your journaling to include 1 - 3 positives if you're currently focusing largely on the negative thinking; will help you build those positive feelings about yourself. 

If being kind to yourself or praising your own achievements feels awkward, use the journal to get used to using that language. 

Making space for these little moments will go a long way in building a more positive perception of yourself.

 

Self-Belief & Inner Strength Prompts

What is Self-Belief?

When you have higher self-belief you innately trust in yourself and believe that you are capable of any challenges that may come your way. The “I can handle this” mentality enables you to approach life with more confidence. 

What is Inner Strength?

Inner strength goes hand in hand with self-belief. It’s about the resilience to cope during uncertain or challenging times. As with self-belief, it’s about having that inner trust that you can and will find a way forward.

These prompts are designed to help you focus on your unique self and your strengths that will help you become more confident.

Self-Belief 

Reflecting on Your Strengths:

What achievements are you most proud of - big or small? Why do they matter & what do they tell you about yourself?

What are your strengths? Are you creative, or empathic, calm, or resourceful? What makes these qualities good, and how do they show up in your everyday life?

Describe a time you overcame a challenge. What strengths or qualities did you use during this time?

Challenging Limiting Beliefs:

Write down some of your negative beliefs. Explore where they may have come from, and whether they are based on facts or fears.

What evidence do you have that these beliefs are untrue? Think about the times you accomplished a goal or overcame a challenge despite doubting that you could.

Think about how you can reframe these thoughts in a positive way. For example, reframe “I’m bad at this, I should give up” to “I’m learning and improving every day.”

Reinforcing Self-Belief 

Think about a friend or loved one. What 3 (positive) words would they use to describe you? 

How will you celebrate small wins as you work towards increasing your confidence and self-belief? Becoming your own cheerleader may feel alien to you, so focus on small wins and think about how you will acknowledge these mini milestones. For example, a day off where you relax, a new book or some pampering! Getting used to self-praise is key and as you become more comfortable with it, your confidence will also grow!

Close your eyes and visualise your future self, feeling happy and confident. How do you feel? What’s different about you? Are you standing taller? Smiling more? More relaxed? Explore how it feels to be confident and successful.

Inner Strength

Here are some additional prompts that can be used to develop your inner strength.

Self-Compassion

How would you speak to a friend facing similar struggles to you? Write those words for yourself.

Reflect on what gives you hope or comfort. How can you bring more of this into your life right now?

Write about one thing you could forgive yourself for. Let go of any unnecessary guilt you hold around this, and show yourself compassion.

Facing Fears

What scares you the most? Write it down and explore why it scares you. When you write it down, it takes away some of its power. Re-read what you’ve written and think about how realistic or likely this fear is.

Think about the worst-case scenario, and then describe how you could handle it.

What’s a small step you can take today to face this fear? Start slowly to build confidence over time.

Gratitude

What are three things you’re grateful for today? Why did you choose these?

What do I appreciate about myself?

What made me smile today? This can be a small moment like a friendly smile, a nice memory or something funny that happened.

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Remember, journaling can be a great tool for building self confidence and self-belief. Take things at your pace, and be compassionate with yourself along the way. 

It can take time to heal those long standing limiting beliefs, but through repeating the actions, you can make those changes.

What’s your favourite prompt?