Journaling can be used to spark creativity, process difficult events, even work on character development. Here are 101 journaling prompts for self love you can use to get in touch and accept yourself.

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There are many benefits to journaling, but one of the most impactful is how it can help you grow as a person. By regularly writing down your thoughts and feelings, you can gain a deeper understanding of yourself and what you want out of life.
Additionally, journaling can help you work through difficult emotions and experiences, which can lead to personal growth.
If you’re looking for a way to boost your self-development, journaling is a great place to start.
What Is Self-Love?
Self-love is the love you have for yourself. It is the belief that you are worthy of love and care. It is the ability to love and accept yourself, even with your flaws and imperfections.
It is the ability to love and accept yourself unconditionally, to forgive yourself, and to be your own best friend.
It is the key to a life lived with purpose and meaning. Self love is an essential ingredient to a happy and fulfilling life. It is the foundation of a healthy relationship with yourself and others.
A self love journal is a journey of discovery – identifying and appreciating who you are and celebrating your uniqueness. Click To TweetLoving yourself doesn’t mean that you think you’re perfect. It means that you accept yourself for who you are – flaws and all. It means that you treat yourself with kindness and respect. It means that you make choices that are in your best interest.
A self love journal is a journey of discovery – identifying and appreciating who you are and celebrating your uniqueness. It’s a lifelong process of getting to know and accept yourself. It’s about learning to love yourself even when you make mistakes.
The more you love and accept yourself, the more you’ll be able to give and receive love from others. When you have a strong foundation of self love, you’ll be better equipped to handle the ups and downs of life.
Why We Should Develop Self-Love
I sometimes get blow-back when discussing self-love. Many churches and religions advocate dying to self, denying yourself, and loving others more than self. As a Christian, I also believe in these principles.
These concepts are especially relevant for contemporary culture that seems obsessed with self.
So, don’t read this section thinking I am advocating a ‘me-only’ philosophy for life. I am not.
However, most psychologist support the idea that loving ourselves (accepting who we are at a fundamental level) is a prerequisite for loving others well.
Think of this way, if I do not like myself (at the core of my being) I am unable to accept and love others. My self-esteem and sense of personal value skews my view of others. A healthy self image is an important factor in feeling free to give myself to others. Without it, we close others out because we fear rejection.
With that in mind, here are five reasons self-love is so important for our self esteem”
1) When we love ourselves, we feel good about ourselves.
This boosts our confidence and makes us feel better about who we are.
2) When we love ourselves, we take better care of ourselves.
We are more likely to exercise, eat healthy foods, and get enough sleep when we love ourselves. This leads to better physical health, which in turn leads to better mental health.
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3) Self-love helps us to set boundaries with others.
When we love and respect ourselves, we are less likely to allow others to treat us poorly. We are more likely to say “no” to things that we don’t want to do, and to stand up for ourselves when we are being treated unfairly.
4) Self-love is a reflection of accepting ourselves.
It feels good to love and appreciate ourselves. My wife often uses the phrase, ‘comfortable in our own skin.’ It means we accept who we are and are not seeking to be someone or something else.
There is a difference in having a desire to improve, grow, and transform ourselves into a better person, and disliking who we are and wanting to be someone else.
5) It honors God to love ourselves
Loving ourselves is a way to express gratitude, appreciation, and trust in God. In essence, when we accept ourselves we say to God, ‘I’m glad you gave me life and I’m thankful you entrusted me with gifts, abilities, and talents that can glorify you.
I’ll close this section by reminding you that this version of self-love isn’t about selfish behavior or ego driven values. It is not saying ‘I’m perfect.’ It IS saying, I accept that I have something to offer the world and I’m grateful for the life I have been given.
When journaling for self-love this is the idea we want to cultivate and develop.
Self-Love vs Selfish Ego
It is important to know there is a difference in having a healthy love for yourself and being selfish.
What is the difference?
Self-love is when you have a healthy regard for yourself and take care of yourself emotionally and physically. It’s about having a positive relationship with yourself and making choices that are in your best interest.
Selfish ego is when you put your own needs and wants above everything and everyone else. You’re driven by a need to be the center of attention and to have things your way. You’re not concerned with anyone else’s wellbeing and you’re not open to compromise.
Self-love is when you have a healthy regard for yourself and take care of yourself emotionally and physically. It’s about having a positive relationship with yourself and making choices that are in your best interest. Click To TweetKeep this in mind when journaling and processing your most intimate and personal desires. The goal is toknow thyself well without becoming an ego-maniac.
How To Use Your Journal For Developing Self Esteem
If you’re looking for ways to develop your self esteem, journaling is a great tool. It can help you work through your thoughts and feelings, and figure out what’s really important to you.
Here are some tips for using your journal to develop self esteem:
1. Be honest with yourself.
In your journal, you can really be honest with yourself. You don’t have to worry about what other people think, or whether you’re being too hard on yourself. Just let it all out.
2. Be specific.
When you’re journaling, be as specific as possible. For example, rather than just writing that you’re feeling down, try to figure out what’s causing that feeling. Are you worried about something specific? Are you feeling overwhelmed?
The more specific you can be, the easier it will be to work through your feelings.
3. Set goals.
One of the best ways to develop self esteem is to set goals for yourself. In your journal, you can brainstorm goals that you want to achieve. Then, you can work on developing a plan to achieve those goals.
4. Be positive.
It’s important to focus on the positive aspects of your life, rather than the negative. In your journal, make sure to write down the things that make you happy. What are you grateful for? What are your strengths?
Sometimes gaining healthy self esteem means we have to deal with difficult aspects of our character. It is healthy to ‘flesh out’ and work through habits that keep us from being the person we want to be.
When dealing with this tough issues, be honest with yourself. One thing that helps me is I always try to find a way to end on the positive.
For example, if I’m confronting a negative habit, I will explore how it makes me feel about myself and why I want to change it. But I do not stop there. I close by writing what I can do to change. I write about how I will feel when I develop a better habit. And how it will positively impact my life.
This way I end on a positive note.
5. Be patient.
Developing self esteem takes time. Don’t expect to see results overnight. Just keep journaling, and eventually you’ll start to feel better about yourself.
101 Journaling Prompts For Self-Love
Here are 101 self love journal prompts to help you grow in love for yourself and others.
Use these questions to prompt contemplative thought.
Don’t just write simple or basic answers. The goal is to think and meditate on the questions and use your journal to explore your thoughts.
I like to follow each answer with the question ‘why’? Then ask ‘why’ again. This way you are digging deep into your heart. By doing this you will discover new things about yourself and better understand and appreciate who you are.
The goal is to go deep.
- Why is it important to you to love yourself?
- List 5 things you love about yourself?
- What are 3 things you’d like to change about yourself?
- How can you start to love yourself more? List 3 things you can do starting today.
- What are some things you can do to take care of yourself?
- Why is it important to accept yourself? List as many reasons as you can.
- Is there something you’ve done you feel you need to forgive yourself for? What is it? What are some things you can do to forgive yourself?
- How can you start to feel more confident about yourself?
- How can you start to feel more comfortable in your own skin?
- What are some things you can do to feel more energetic and alive?
- What are some things you can do to feel more connected to yourself?
- What are some things you can do to feel more present in your own life?
- List 5 things you are proud of
- What are some things you can do to feel more creative and inspired?
- How can you start to feel more passion and purpose in your life?
- What are some things you can do to feel more balanced and relaxed?
- If money were no object, what would you want to do with your life? Why? How would it make you feel to accomplish this?
- Make a list of the things that make you unique
- What is one thing that makes you feel better when you have a bad day?
- What are some things you can do to feel more connected to your spiritual self?
- How can you start to feel more secure in yourself?
- How can you start to feel more loved by yourself?
- Describe your ideal life. Why is this ideal for you?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your appearance?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your abilities?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your relationships?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your future?
- How can you start to feel more hopeful about yourself?
- How can you start to feel more excited about your life?
- How can you start to feel more grateful for yourself?
- How can you start to feel more present in your own life?
- What are some things you can do to feel more connected to your body?
- What are some things you can do to feel more connected to your emotions?
- What are some things you can do to feel more connected to your intuition?
- What are some things you can do to feel more connected to your spiritual self?
- How can you start to feel more secure in yourself?
- How can you start to feel more loved by yourself?
- How can you start to feel more lovable to yourself?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your appearance?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your abilities?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your relationships?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your future?
- How can you start to feel more hopeful about yourself?
- How can you start to feel more excited about your life?
- How can you start to feel more grateful for yourself?
- How can you start to feel more present in your own life?
- What are some things you can do to feel more connected to your body?
- What are some things you can do to feel more connected to your emotions?
- What are some things you can do to feel more connected to your intuition?
- What are some things you can do to feel more connected to your spiritual self?
- How can you start to feel more secure in yourself?
- What is your biggest struggle with loving yourself, and what can you do change this?
- How can you set better boundaries in your relationships?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your appearance?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your abilities?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your relationships?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your future?
- How can you start to feel more hopeful about yourself?
- Write down 5 positive affirmations about yourself for today
- Write a letter of appreciation to yourself for something you’ve recently done
- How can you start to feel more present in your own life?
- List three self-care items you’d like to start today. Why are they important to you?
- What are your biggest dreams for the next 30 days
- Name three ways you can start taking actionable steps toward your dreams
- Describe your perfect morning. Why would this make you happy?
- Describe your perfect evening. Why would this make you happy?
- Write down five good things people have said about you recently
- Write down one thing your future self will thank you for
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your appearance?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your abilities?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your relationships?
- What are some things you can do to feel more confident about your future?
- How can you start to feel more hopeful about yourself?
- How can you start to feel more excited about your life?
- How can you start to feel more grateful for yourself?
- How can you start to feel more present in your own life?
- What are your favorite hobbies? How do they make you feel? Why?
- What have you done in the last 30 days you are proud of? Why?
- Write about a time you helped someone you care about. How did this make you feel?
- What makes you feel confident? Why?
- What makes you feel loved by others? Why?
- What do you do that gives you the most pleasure and enjoyment?
- What is your best personality trait? What makes you pick this?
- What does your dream life look like? How will you feel when you live your dream life?
- List 5 things you want to change in your life. What can you do today to move in the right direction?
- What makes you feel hopeful? How can you create more hope in your life?
- When are you most productive? Morning? Afternoon? Night? What can you do to capitalize on your peak time?
- How can you start to feel more hopeful about yourself?
- How can you start to feel more excited about your life?
- How can you start to feel more grateful for yourself?
- How can you start to feel more present in your own life?
- List one new habit you would like to create. What can you do today to start?
- What do you do that makes you feel good about yourself? What can you do to experience this more?
- What do you do that makes you feel bad about yourself? What can you do to change this?
- What things should you say ‘no’ to more often?
- What things should you say ‘yes’ to more often?
- Write ten words that describe you in a positive way?
- What makes you feel most alive? How can you add this into your life more?
- Name three friends you are thankful for?
- What can you do today that would make you feel successful, loved, and accepted?
- What is your favorite thing about yourself? Why did you pick this and why is this important to you?
You may also want to read Marriage Journal Prompts To Help Grow Your Relationship
Best Journals For Personal Growth
A plain notebook works great for journaling. I used a basic 50 cent school notebook for years. Recently I upgraded (You can see my journal here). I use a moleskin 90 page notebook but I now carry my them in a Lochby field journal. It works great for me.
If you more than a plain notebook, here are a few journals to check out.
For Women
Daily Positivity Journal
This journal includes prompts and sections for goal planning and tracking. One downside (at least for me) is that there are not many pages to actually write journal entries. Still, if you want to combine your journal with a planner, this one works.
Take the Marriage Quiz and discover your marriage score and get suggestions on how to improve your relationship. You will also be sent the results of your quiz along with suggestions on how to create the marriage of your dreams. >> Take The Quiz Now <<
Komal’s Passion Leather Journal
This is a classy leather journal that has refillable pages. It is designed for writing, not planning or goal tracking.
Fanery Sue Tree of Life Refillable Writing Journal
For Men
The Lochby Field Journal
This is the journal I (Joseph) use. It’s rugged and manly. Plus it holds four moleskin notebooks I use for various purposes. You don’t have to use moleskin, that is just what I prefer.
The Daily Journal For Men
This is a 365 day journal with a writing prompt for each day. Each question is designed to make you think about your life in a deeper way and process the changes you need to make to grow.
The Sunrise Manifesto Guided Morning Journal
Final Thoughts On Journaling for Self-Love
Loving ourselves is an important part of a healthy life. It’s difficult to give love to others if we struggle with self esteem and self worth issues.
In this article we talked about the importance of journaling to build a healthy sense of self-love.
Summary
- What Is Self-Love?
- Why We Should Develop Self-Love
- Self-Love vs Selfish Ego
- How To Use Your Journal For Developing Self Esteem
- 101 Journaling Prompts For Self-Love
What’s Next?
31 Day Marriage Journal Challenge

Journal your way to a healthier, happier marriage with this 31 day marriage journaling challenge.
- Each day you will be given a writing prompt
- Spend 10 minutes answering the question and exploring your thoughts
- Share your journal with your spouse (optional)
- Discover how journaling daily can increase your awareness and help you communicate better with your spouse.
[…] listed 101 journal prompts for developing self love, but here are journal prompts to help you evaluate and make your relationship […]