February is Annual Boost Self-Esteem Month. To observe it, Kindness-Compassion-and-Coaching.com is publishing a series of posts about the many aspects of this intriguing subject. (If you would like to read the series from the beginning, please start with: Self-Esteem: What You Need to Know and Secrets Revealed.) Self-discovery plays a vital role in any effort to assess our self-esteem, or to improve it. Today’s post focuses specifically on self-discovery journal prompts that can help reveal your authentic self.
If the topic of self-esteem interests you, be sure to subscribe at KindCompassCoach so you don’t miss a post in this month-long series.
“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.” – Roy T. Bennett
Self-Discovery Journal Prompts to Reveal Your Authentic Self
No time we invest in self-discovery is wasted. The more we learn about ourselves, the better we become at utilizing our true talents and gifts. An added bonus? We’re more likely to live a full and contented life, too.
Before we dig into that – let’s get one thing straight, and out of the way: there’s nothing wrong with us.
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That’s not where we will spend our time on in this journey of self-discovery.
Where will we spend our time?
Figuring out all the things that are truly right and exceptional about each of us, as individuals.
And then, figuring out how to leverage those talents every chance we get.
Self-Discovery Journal Prompts to Light the Way
First things first: let’s get one thing straight.
There’s nothing wrong with any of us.
That’s right, there’s nothing wrong with us.
A journey of self-discovery is not focused on identifying all our flaws and imperfections.
Unfortunately, hundreds of self-help books are based on the notion that we all need to get better at something.
And many of us struggle to improve in areas where we are challenged.
But the truth is, most of us simply don’t need to be fixed.
We are each perfect (including our flaws!) just as we are.
We need to love ourselves and recognize our gifts, as well as our limitations, without judgment.
So, if our journey of self-discovery is not based on uncovering our weaknesses, what is it based on?
Recognizing our superpowers and building a life around them.
Putting them to good use, for the benefit of ourselves and others.
Begin Your Self-Discovery Journey Here
A journey of self-discovery starts by asking ourselves a few basic but important questions.
About what truly makes us tick.
Activities that we anticipate with pleasure.
Tasks we are absorbed in when we lose track of time.
In other words, the key to our journey of self-discovery is finding our purpose in life.
If we can do that, we will discover vast reserves of power, positivity, ambition and enthusiasm we never knew we had.
So, grab a notebook and a pen, find the perfect journal for you, or your just use your phone or laptop and settle in for some brainstorming. Things are about to get epic around here.
Self-Discovery Journal Prompts Set 1
Let’s start with identifying our superpowers. We all have one or two. These are things we do almost effortlessly, that are difficult for others. These gifts are part of what makes each of us unique. When we recognize, honor and utilize these talents, we feel fulfilled.
- What comes easily to you?
- What makes you feel special when you do it?
- Do you excel at finding efficiency in space, time or budget?
- Or visualizing a different world, a new invention, or a work of art?
- Are you at your best when public speaking, engaging a small group or listening?
- Do people remark at your ability to network socially?
- Or how well you empathize with others?
- Can you magically pull together a dinner party for 10?
- Are you a whiz at budgeting or financial planning?
- Do you stay calm during an emergency?
These things are almost impossible for some of us – if you can do them well, others may view you as a superhero and you may not even know it.
Keep thinking. Come up with a long list of things that come naturally to you.
Self-Discovery Journal Prompts Set 2
- When was the last time you focused on doing things that capitalize on your superpowers? One clue – when we’re engaging our superpowers, we often lose track of time. Because we’ve achieved a state of flow.
- Describe what you were doing in detail, how you felt when you were doing it.
- Think about other ways you could deploy your superpower.
- What kind of jobs or hobbies or outside activities are your superpowers well suited to?
Journal Prompts Set 3
Just as we all have superpowers, we all have areas where we are challenged.
I hate anything that involves an instruction manual. Mechanical things are not fun for me. I have no concept of the laws of physics. My eyes glaze over quickly when I try to understand economics. And I have a low tolerance for politics.
Just as we maximize life fulfillment by using our superpowers, we also improve our likelihood of happiness and satisfaction by sloughing off tasks (or aspects of our jobs or domestic chores) we truly do not enjoy to someone else.
Preferably someone else who has a superpower in that domain!
- What are the types of activities that you find particularly challenging, boring, or uninteresting?
- What do you do every day or week that you absolutely hate to do?
- Who do you know in your family, on your team at work, in your personal life, who may be more suited to doing those tasks that are not fulfilling to you?
- What specific chores, tasks, projects, assignments, can you delegate to someone else?
Self-Discovery Journal Prompts Set 4
As mentioned above, a big part of self-discovery is figuring out what makes us tick. Hopefully, beginning to hone-in on our own life purpose.
Though it’s not fun, sometimes, a good way to figure out what we are born to do is to spend some time reflecting on what truly does not fulfill us. These self-discovery journal prompts may help.
- When was the last time you felt truly out of sorts, out of your depth, at a loss for how to proceed?
- What were you doing?
- What made it so hard?
We can feel drained and uninspired when we’re not using our natural gifts. We can also feel this way when we’re trying to bring superpowers to the table that we just don’t have!
Let’s take care not to judge ourselves when this happens. Instead, let’s use it as a time to reassess.
To figure out where our own superpowers lie and how to leverage our own gifts to the benefit of everyone, including ourselves.
We will struggle if we attempt to be the best at something we are not suited to.
Being in the wrong role doesn’t make us less amazing and powerful and strong!
Here’s a common example. Talented analysts, project leads, and salespeople are often rewarded for stellar performance in their craft by being promoted to management.
These opportunities for advancement are foisted upon them, and then they often flounder or even fail.
This is because this is not what they were doing well!
In fact, these folks may know nothing about management and may not be suited to it at all.
Similarly, many dedicated, willing, energetic volunteers are encouraged to take on leadership positions, or even run for office.
But pursuing those opportunities may not be good for them or the people they serve.
Self-Discovery Journal Prompts Re-Cap
Ask yourself:
- What are my superpowers?
- How can I use them more effectively?
- How may I use my talents daily?
- What am I doing today that doesn’t fit well with my strengths?
- How can I realign those aspects of my life?
- When thinking about making a change, resolve to consider: will this new situation allow me to better leverage my true gifts?
- Will it help me focus my energy and effort on activities that fulfill me and align with my purpose?
There are many other resources you may wish to tap into to get your gears turning. If you prefer an audio option, check out this list of the 8 Best Self-Help Podcasts.
Know that you have our own unique set of magical superpowers.
Let’s figure out what they are and seek every opportunity to use them.
They make us who we are.
And we are all so much more than enough.
We hope you found these Self-Discovery Journal Prompts useful.
If you’re ready to move onto the next post in the self-esteem series, it’s here for you:
How to Use Self-Discovery to Find Your Path in Life.
Additional Self-Discovery Resources
To explore an amazing collection of self-discovery and personal development resources, check out: Best Self-Help Books and Blogs for Women.
Also, if you could use some more inspiration to develop your personal goals, this will help: How to Define What Personal Success Actually Means to You.
Thank you, as always, for reading.
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Joan Senio is the founder of KindCompassCoach. Her career includes 20+ years as a health care executive and 15 years (and counting) as a consultant. The common thread through Joan’s professional life has been a commitment to lead, mentor and coach current and future leaders, and women from all walks of life. KindCompassCoach provides information and advice grounded in Joan’s personal experience; however, all articles are backed by research and provide facts and advice from a wide variety of experts. Joan also serves as a thought-leader for KuelLife.com and is a regular contributor to PsychReg and Sixty and Me.
7 Responses
I like this idea of strengths being thought of as super powers. Sometimes if you’re good at something it can be hard to see it that way because if it’s easy for you, it might make you think it’s easy for every one else too.
I love this, and it goes both ways. I might criticize others because they’re not as excelled in something I see as a simple task.. We need to emphasize our superpowers and work on what we lack, but not forgetting that no one is perfect and that it’s okay to not be good in everything, and therefore you should embrace the superpowers of the people around you too, for they might need a little help realizing their strengths. Xx
Great point! Thanks so much for commenting!
This is really inspirational, thank you for sharing Joan! I like that you said we should use our own strengths as well as encourage others around us to use their own gifts and talents too. This is a really thought-provoking post and a great reminder to try new things out of our comfort zones, as we may discover hidden skills and passions! Excellent post, hope you have a great week! <3 xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
Thank you so much reading and for the excellent comment, Bexa!
Self discovery is a lifelong process, and these prompts have just given me a start to the next chapter in mine! Thank you for sharing, these are really unique and incredibly valuable.
Thank you so much for commenting and sharing your thoughts, it means so much. Congratulations on beginning your next chapter! Joan