20 Journal Prompts for When You Feel Unsure of Yourself

Do you feel like everyone else has their lives figured out while you’re still unsure of your purpose and direction?

When I was twenty, I thought thirty-something me would have all my ducks in a row and every little detail of my life in order.

Instead, my thirties are teaching me that unexpected twists and turns are all part of the journey.

Perhaps it’s good that things are never set in stone because it means we’re always evolving and learning more about ourselves as the years go by.

But that doesn’t mean the feelings of uncertainty and confusion get any easier to deal with.

Why we feel uncertain

Part of the problem is that we’re searching for the *right* direction or the thing that will make everything fall into place.

Yet as soon as we enter into the ‘must figure things out’ mentality, we stop listening to ourselves.

Instead, we listen to what other people tell us we should be doing, hoping that they’ll have the answers we desperately seek.

We start comparing our lives to everyone else and push unrealistic goals on ourselves; goals that weren’t even ours to begin with.

If you can relate, pause for a moment and see what the current version of you wants. You know, the version of you in this very moment.

To help with that, I’m sharing 20 journal prompts to help you come back to yourself, find inner clarity, and uncover the answers you’ve been seeking.

The real work? Actually listening to the answers you come up with.

“To know more about this life, one needs to know more about oneself.” – Nitin Namdeo

How to use these prompts

Find a moment to be by yourself where you won’t be interrupted (I know it’s hard these days). 

I’d recommend doing a quick meditation or listening to some calming music before answering these questions. We’re so overstimulated these days that our brains need as much calm as possible if we want to be able to listen to our inner guidance.

Next, answer the following questions. Pick and choose a few or feel free to answer them all. You can write your answers as bullet points or mini-essays, or try using voice notes if you like to talk your ideas out.

Try not to overthink your answers or tell yourself that the answers seem unrealistic. The less judgment you make, the more connected you’ll be to yourself.

20 journal prompts for inner clarity

1. What could you talk about for hours on end? 

2. What do you find yourself wanting to know more about? What rabbit holes do you go down when searching for information? 

3. What have people told you you’re good at?

4. What have people asked you for help with? (this could be physical help, or it might be something like listening or offering support)

5. What could you confidently teach someone? Imagine an alien comes to earth knowing nothing of human life – what would you be able to teach them?

6. What do you do on a daily basis that feels effortless? Think about your work, home, habits, etc.

7. What do you put the highest value on in your life?

8. What do other people do that you find frustrating? What about their actions bothers you? This can be an indication of things you don’t value.

9. Which three areas of life are most important to you right now? Why did you pick those areas?

10. If you could do anything right now – without worrying about money, judgment, or responsibilities – what would you do?

11. What were you like as a child? How did people describe you?

12. Think of the person you were 5 years ago. How have you changed since then? What have you become better at?

13. Imagine you meet your future self 5 years from now. What would future you tell you to focus on and keep doing? What would they tell you to let go of? Try this future self-visualization to see.

14. Who do you admire? What qualities do you like about that person? What do you have in common with that person?

15. Think of a time when you felt accomplished or proud. What led up to that moment? What did you accomplish? Why did that feel good?

16. What makes you feel calm and relaxed? Why do those things make you feel that way?

17. Text a friend and ask them to describe you in five words. How does their answer make you feel? Does it feel accurate or are you surprised?

18. If you know your time of birth, look up your rising/ascendant sign using this tool. Your rising sign can show you your role in this lifetime. What sign is yours in? What does that sign represent? Does it feel accurate? (for example, mine is Gemini which is all about communication and sharing ideas).

19. What’s a problem you’ve solved or overcome in your lifetime? What helped you deal with it? This is an indicator of something you could help others with.

20. Are there any connections between the answers you’ve written down? Do you have a better sense of who you are and what you want, at least in this moment? Look for repetition of words and phrases that might reveal you answers you hadn’t noticed before.

What have you learned about yourself today?

As a final note, try not to get too caught up searching for the *right* answers.

This journey to understand yourself is a lifetime endeavor, so come back to these questions as often as you need.