65 Journal Prompts for Self Love to Empower Yourself

Last Updated on June 25, 2023

Self love can be a bit of a tricky concept to feel comfortable with. Some of us were raised with the notion that self love is self-absorbed, selfish, or wrong.

That couldn’t be further from the truth! Self love is absolutely essential to your mental health, and anyone who tells you otherwise needs a lesson in basic psychology.

Having a solid foundation for self love allows for less stress and anxiety, increased happiness, better motivation, and stronger self-confidence. Growing your self love is conducive to your overall growth as a person.

Sometimes, the easiest way to get in touch with appreciating yourself is through writing. That’s why I’ve put together these journal prompts for self love so you can reflect on all the good confidence-boosting things to empower yourself!

Table of Contents

What is Self Love All About?

So, what exactly is self love all about?

It’s often confused for self care, but self love has more to do with acceptance and appreciation for your own worth, right where you are in this moment. No matter what stage you’re in or how you’re doing. This means making your happiness and mental health a priority. Put yourself first when you know you need to!

Self love is also extremely interconnected to concepts like self-esteem, self-worth, and self-compassion. They all feed off of each other, so you’ll want to pay attention to each of these.

Self care on the other hand, while sharing some similarities, focuses more on self improvement and taking action to strive for more.

All in all, self love is about meeting yourself where you’re at and loving the person you are unconditionally. Life has ebbs and flows and is a big journey! Give yourself some grace and be kind to yourself, even if you aren’t exactly where you want to be yet.

What Should You Write When Journaling for Self Love?

The first thing you should ask yourself when journaling for self love is, “what do I need right now, and where am I content?”

Shoot, this question can be a journal prompt all on its own! I would suggest dedicating a page to answering this question, simply jotting down anything that comes to mind. After all, journaling is all for increasing your self-awareness, and this practice accomplishes that.

Let’s say that in this journaling exercise, you realize you’re doing well with your self-worth. You recognize that you’re a caring friend, you’re intelligent, and you’re passionate. Awesome!

But while you may excel in this area, you discovered that there’s one area of self love you can’t quite master: allowing yourself to rest and relax.

You feel like there’s too much work and not enough hours in the day to do it all. When you try to relax, you’re not really at rest because you have that guilty feeling that you could be doing something productive.

Placing this expectation of never ending productivity on yourself shows that you’re not listening to your needs. You’re not giving yourself the compassion and understanding that rest is okay, and even necessary for your overall productivity in the first place.

But hey, now that we know that, we can work on it through journal prompts for self love! And knowing is half the battle. Writing and responding to questions that increase your self-awareness is the first and biggest step with journaling for self love.

You deserve to love yourself. So let’s get started!

Here are 65 Empowering Journal Prompts for Self Love

Don’t forget about these journal prompts for self love! Pin them for later!

Deep Self Love Journal Prompts

What is your favorite characteristic about yourself?
Remember a time where you felt most capable. Describe what made you feel that way.
Recall your biggest accomplishment. What was it, and what did you have to do to get there?
Talk about an area of your life you could be less harsh on yourself about.
At the end of the day, list everything you accomplished that day. (No matter how small!)
How can you be a little kinder to yourself this week?
Describe something that makes you smile in detail.
Are there any parts of yourself that you repress or feel self conscious of? Why?
What are 5 things you’re grateful for and why?

Get even more help with your journey to self love!

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You’ll get to know your emotional triggers inside and out, overcome unhelpful behaviors that hold you back, and learn the exact process for successfully getting out of negative thoughts! It’s truly an all-in-one guide to managing your mental health, which is a huuuge factor in achieving self love. Grab yourself a copy at the button below!

GET THE anxiety JOURNAL

Journal Prompts for Self Discovery

How did your most challenging moments shape you into who you are today?
What do you need more of in life right now?
Think back to a time where you felt most content. What was present in your life to create that feeling?
When do you feel most calm and relaxed?
What simple pleasures do you most enjoy in life?
What fears hold you back from pursuing what you really want?
What would you do today if you truly loved yourself?
What do you think unconditional self love looks/feels like?
What steps do you still need to take to achieve unconditional self love?
What is your biggest obstacle in achieving self love?
What makes you feel alive?
Have you mastered slowing down and being present? If not, what prevents you?
Where should you say “no” more in your life?
What commitment can you make to yourself to practice self love daily?
As a child, did you ever struggle with self love or self esteem?
How does your level of self love as a child differ from the self love you feel today?
What do you do to self-soothe?
What could you do to stop negative self-talk in its tracks?
Have you ever tried reframing a negative thought into a positive one? How did it go? Was it effective?
What is one thing you can do to prioritize your mental health?

Make sure you don’t lose these journal prompts for self love! Pin them below!

Journal Prompts for Self Growth

What are you most passionate about?
What were you most passionate about as a child?
Do you struggle with making time for yourself? How so?
Write a letter to yourself highlighting all the things you love about yourself.
Describe a time where you felt brave.
Describe a time where you pushed past an obstacle you didn’t think you would overcome.
What are some things in your life that you wouldn’t change for anything?
What are your top 5 core values?
When do you feel most comfortable being yourself?
Think about a time you ventured out of your comfort zone. How did you feel before, during, and after?
Name 3 of your favorite self care activities.

Journal Prompts for Self Love and Confidence Building

What limiting beliefs could you let go of to encourage more self love?
When you’re having a rough day, what is something that always cheers you up without fail?
Where in your life do you need to slow down?
What is an unrealistic expectation you need to let go of?
In what ways can you fill your own cup before tending to others?
What is your favorite thing about your morning routine? If you don’t have a morning routine, what morning routine ideas would you like to start?
What are 3 positive ways you’ve changed in the last five years?
How can you support yourself when you’re struggling?
Think about a recent compliment you received. How did it make you feel?
On the contrary, how can you work toward being content with yourself regardless of external validation?
Think of someone who made you feel judged and write down the evidence for why their judgments are not accurate.
What mistakes can you forgive yourself for?

Journal Prompts for Positive Self Talk

Write down three positive affirmations you’d like to tell yourself more often.
What are three ways you can practice self care on a daily basis?
What is the biggest way you’ve grown and developed in this phase of your life?
What are three things you can do to be more gentle with yourself?
How can you show yourself more kindness and compassion when you need it?
Describe a time where you helped others recently. How did it make you feel about yourself?
What are 3 goals you’ve accomplished this year that you’re most proud of?
Why do you think it’s so easy for us to show love, compassion, and kindness to our friends and family, but so difficult to do the same for ourselves?
What is something you’re good at that you should recognize more often?
What kinds of skills have you gained in the last few years that make you feel good about yourself?
What are 5 things you love most about your life right now and how can you shift your attention to these things more often?
How have you positively impacted someone else’s life lately? How does this contribute to your self-confidence?
What is something you hope to be able to do one day, once you’ve moved past your fear? How can you encourage yourself to overcome the fear?

You don’t wanna forget about these journal prompts for self love! Make sure ya pin ‘em!

What Makes Self Love So Important?

If you weren’t raised to practice self love, you may not understand just how important it is. But when we neglect the need for self love, this is when problems like people-pleasing and perfectionism arise. Self love should be non-negotiable in your life. If it’s not, you won’t be able to give your own needs and feelings the validation they deserve.

When you begin to value yourself in this way, you won’t feel guilty about setting healthy boundaries, protecting your energy, and filtering toxicity and negativity out of your life.

Once you decide that self love is a must to practice, it will become easier to put yourself first–no matter how much attention life demands out of you. You’ll even notice your decisions become clearer! Walking through life making every decision based on what aligns with your best interest is an excellent guiding belief.

How Does Journaling Help with Self Love?

Not only does journaling increase self-awareness of your needs, but it can help you through so many areas of your self-image. Journal prompts for self love can help you…

Have a safe space to express yourself. Your journal is just for you! You can work through your deepest, most complex thoughts without anyone ever knowing or judging. This allows you to get comfortable with your most authentic self.
Crush your negative self-talk. You’ll likely have some negative thoughts come up as you journal. In a weird way, this is actually good. Why? Because you’ll identify your limiting beliefs and negative core beliefs about yourself. From there, you can challenge these thoughts and reframe them in a more rational or positive way.
Track your self love progress. When you make journaling a habit, you can follow your progress with every journal entry. I know that my journal entries from my teenage years were horribly depressing. I’ve come a longgg way! Seeing the transition from those dark times to how I’m doing now is like a night and day difference, and it’s great to see.

If you’d like to explore more ways to journal for self love, this YouTube video has some insightful advice!

Top 10 Benefits of Self Love

Working on self love ain’t easy. But what makes it worth it? Achieving a healthy mindset where you aren’t guiding yourself through life based on fear and insecurity is pretty darn worth it. With adequate self love behind you, you’ll be able to look out for your best interest because you know your worth and protect it like the treasure it is!

Top 10 benefits of self love include:

Strong self confidence
Improved mental health
Increased self-awareness and a strong sense of self
Decreased stress and anxiety
Increased productivity
Better boundary-setting
Being able to recognize your accomplishments, value, and worth
More certainty with the decisions you make
Living a life for YOU, not others
Overall happiness with who you are

You can start reaping the benefits of self love right away just by trying these journal prompts for self love!

The Best Tips I Can Give You for Self Love

I think we can both agree that mastering self love is way easier said than done. Make sure you approach your self love journey with these tips in mind for best results:

Don’t feel obligated to fit into any one box. You are you, so live your truth!
Become your #1 priority. Always.
Remember that comparison is the thief of joy. No two people are alike, so why compare apples to oranges? The only person you should compare yourself to is the person you were yesterday.
Never be afraid of your own voice. You have the right to assert your boundaries.
The opinions of others are of no value to you. Their subjective thoughts hold no power over you. You’ve got more important things to care about than what others think.
Trust your intuition because no one knows what’s best for you more than you do.
Trust that the decisions you make are the right decisions. Again, you would know the “right” decision for your own life more than anyone else would.
Remember, there’s no need to think in terms of black and white. Practicing balance will put you most at ease.
Pay more mindful attention to all the little blessings and gratitude you experience daily.
Be gentle with yourself when you make mistakes. If your childhood self made the same mistake, how would you respond?
Your worth is not tied to your productivity or your work. You’re worthy just by being here.
Show yourself the same compassion you would to a bestie.
You’re allowed to be choosy with the people you let into your circle.
Process and address those feelings that are nagging at you.
Pursue whatever aligns with what you want most in your life.
Allow your feelings to just be, without passing any judgment.

How You Can Improve Your Self Love Starting Today

Yes, you can begin kick-starting your self love journey TODAY! Some acts of self love are simple enough that they can become a daily habit literally right now. What works for me may not work for you, so play around with these and see what resonates best!

Write your responses to these journal prompts for self love
Take slow, mindful physical care of yourself. (i.e: massaging lotion into your skin, slow stretching, gentle hair brushing)
Give yourself more grace. It’s okay not to complete your whole to-do list in one day. It’s okay if you had a mental breakdown today. You are doing just fine.
Catch yourself each time you think a negative thought and reframe it into a positive/rational one
Write a letter to yourself highlighting all the great things about you! Strengths, character traits, passions, etc.
Follow your flow more often. Maybe working out at 6am just doesn’t feel good. Instead, do some quiet work in the mornings and physical activity later.
Replace negative self talk with positive self talk
Try out a few positive affirmations to create more positive self-talk patterns.