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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nNo matter how successful we may be in the eyes of others, our self-esteem and confidence can often falter for no apparent reason. If there\u2019s anything 2020 has taught us, it\u2019s that it can be difficult to maintain a positive attitude in light of the global pandemic. Despite that, there are ways to boost your own confidence and self-esteem<\/strong><\/a> through a simple yet wholesome act of journaling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Journaling has been shown to have a positive effect on self esteem (Fritson, 2008). Journal prompts can help students develop confidence and self-belief in their ability to succeed. Keeping a journal is a great way to improve self esteem because it involves self-reflection and a sense of control. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the American Psychological Association<\/strong><\/a>, writing about your stress, intrusive thoughts, and unanswered life questions is the best step toward finding your own solutions. Writing about your day, what you\u2019ve learned, and what you want to accomplish going forward can significantly improve your mood, productivity, and outlook on life. With that, let\u2019s take a look at some of the most inspiring and worthwhile journal prompts, which you can use as guidelines for your journaling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s cover some basics and talk about why journaling should find its way into your daily routine in 2021. Journaling is an act of writing down thoughts, goals, as well as both positive and negative experiences you\u2019ve gone through recently. This article<\/a> describes how journaling can have mental health benefits and can promote personal growth. It can help objectivize your experiences and make it easier to cope with emotions while also amplifying the effects of positive experiences on your psyche. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the University of Rochester\u2019s Medical Center<\/strong><\/a>, the benefits of journaling can include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As someone who has taught Masters level and PhD level students academic writing skills at universities such as Durham, Leicester and Anglia Ruskin Cambridge I know the value of writing skills and the improvement they can bring to your life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, before we dive into the journal prompts for self esteem, you should keep several writing tips in mind to make the process as efficient and enjoyable as possible. You can also look here<\/strong><\/a> to access a professionally curated database of essay and writing samples to use as examples during your journaling. This is a great step toward learning more about writing skills in general, which you can then use in your work, study and journal. The tips you should also follow include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you commit to the process, a self-esteem journal is a wonderful tool for improving mental health<\/a>. By writing in your journal each day, you examine the hard work you\u2019ve done towards achieving your goals, improving yourself, and overcoming struggles. Your journal can also serve as a safe place to write out, and work through painful things that could be impacting your self-worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s explore some techniques to help you benefit the most from using your self-esteem journal. These techniques are especially helpful if you want to journal but feel \u2018stuck\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Your journal should have the specific goal of building your self-esteem. It\u2019s a great tool for acknowledging the positive things that you\u2019ve done (see this article<\/a> on Huffington Post). For example, you can commit to writing a daily entry about one thing you did that day that was brave. Some people prefer to find daily writing prompts for their journals. You can also write about negative situations where you learned important lessons or did the right thing in the face of adversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also use your journal to set self-esteem related goals and track your progress towards those goals. One thing you can do is come up with a handful of goals such as reducing fear, spending less time with negative people, or taking better care of yourself. Then create action items to help you accomplish those goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine that you chose self-care<\/a> as one of your goals. Your action items might range from removing your makeup and following a beauty routine each night to setting and keeping medical appointments. Then, one entry per week could be dedicated to your goals and action items, and how you feel about your progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your journal entries should never include self-shaming. Write poems, lists, draw pictures, or maintain a standard diary format. The choice is yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s an example of a self esteem journal page<\/a> and the kind of things you might include on a daily basis to build your self esteem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you write something in your journal, ask yourself the following questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to make the most out of your journaling in 2021, you should also take up healthier lifestyle habits going forward. Smoking, alcohol consumption, and drugs should be abandoned in favor of a healthier diet, more sleep, and daily relaxation. Exercise paired with fresh fruits and vegetables will also do your body plenty of good, boosting the effects of your journaling even further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First thing\u2019s first, you should start your journaling journey by setting a foundation and writing about yourself as much as possible. Who are you as an individual, and what makes you unique? Write from your own perspective and focus on the things you love about your personality, body, skills, hobbies, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Following that, break each note you\u2019ve taken down and write about how you can develop those positive traits further. Possible new hobbies<\/strong><\/a> and career opportunities can sprout in unexpected places, so reflect on your persona and focus on the positives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning is an essential part of life and can significantly affect your confidence and self-esteem in positive ways. Make it a habit to write down the things you\u2019ve learned in the past day or week and create goals for the following days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These goals can be anything from learning about a hobby you were curious about or checking out a self-esteem course<\/strong><\/a> online. Simply informing yourself about new skills and knowledge can affect both your mood and confidence drastically, so don\u2019t shy away from learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Personal pride can manifest in a number of small ways. Activities such as helping an elderly person in the market or feeding a stray dog in your neighborhood more than qualify as honorable things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These are the things you should be proud of doing, as they paint a positive and humane image of you as an individual. As such, you should take pride in doing them and write down every small thing you are proud of doing recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing a short letter to yourself in your journal is a great way to objectively look at your life for a moment. If you weren\u2019t you, what would you tell yourself, and how would you word it? What are the things you\u2019d wish others would tell you openly, and why do these things bother you specifically? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Try to distance yourself from \u201cyourself\u201d and write a small letter from time to time as if you were someone else. Go back to the previous letters you\u2019ve written and see how your perspective, goals, and self-esteem is changing over time. Finally, make your critiques and shortcomings into personal goals and plan on how you will improve as time goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of writing about New Year\u2019s resolutions, you can simply write about the things you wish you would accomplish by 2022. This will help you avoid the inherent pressure of having resolutions you have to follow to the letter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Write about the places you\u2019d like to visit, the things you\u2019d like to do and the skills you\u2019d like to learn. Maybe you\u2019d like to buy a new gadget, read more books or get a new pet this year. Anything and everything can count as a personal year-long goal so long as you write it down and try to follow up on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building your self-confidence<\/a> is about facing negative thoughts and emotions, just as it is about positivity. You should use your journal to write down anything you\u2019ve always wanted to do but never had the opportunity to. Do you want to visit another continent, enroll in college or go to Disneyland? <\/p>\n\n\n\n While money is a looming issue for most of us, this shouldn\u2019t stop you from writing down the things you\u2019d want to do given a chance. Write down what\u2019s stopping you from achieving those goals and whether or not you can do something about it right now. This will boost your confidence and give you a more objective and action-oriented outlook on the things you\u2019ve always thought unachievable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We all fear something, whether we want to admit it or not. Some of us fear great heights or confined spaces, while others have a fear of their parents or siblings for different personal reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your journal is a safe place where you can express your fears through writing and brainstorm on how you can overcome them. Don\u2019t be afraid to put the words on paper<\/strong><\/a> and simply look at them when you sift through journal notes. This will do a lot of good for your confidence and help you think of concrete ways to deal with your innate fears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Role models can help us set ideals for ourselves. Your role model can be anyone \u2013 a friend, a parent, a celebrity, or your favorite teacher. Write about what makes these individuals inspiring in your eyes and what traits you share with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can write down several role models and draw parallels between them until you figure out exactly what makes them so special in your eyes. What can you do to live as they live, and how can you become more in tune with their life philosophy? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, you should always take the time to write down the things you are thankful for every day. This can include anything from having your own apartment or room, making a stable income, having friends, or being healthy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We often take these things for granted and are oblivious to their value until we lose them. Don\u2019t wait for something bad to happen to be thankful that you are alive and well \u2013 write it down in your journal. This can boost your confidence and self-esteem dramatically and help you develop into a person you will be proud of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t wait for the perfect moment to start journaling \u2013 simply pick up a notebook and start jotting down notes about yourself and your experiences. It\u2019s inevitable that you will feel down from time to time, but that doesn\u2019t mean you should give up on being yourself. Write in your journal both when you feel positive or depressed, whether it\u2019s sunny or rainy outside. <\/strong>Make it a habit to express your thoughts and feelings through writing each day, and your confidence<\/strong><\/a> and self-esteem will reflect that effort in spades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Self-esteem isn\u2019t just thinking highly of one\u2019s self. It\u2019s developing a deep, respectful relationship with yourself, and taking time to acknowledge your efforts and accomplishments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember that this journaling process is for you and about you. Consider your needs, and how much work you need to do to get to where you want to be. Also, keep in mind that this journey is supposed to make you feel good about yourself. Don\u2019t set yourself up for failure. Don\u2019t beat yourself up if you don\u2019t always reach your goals in terms of keeping up with your journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a very purposeful type of journaling. You may find that it\u2019s sometimes difficult to decide what to write, and to be sure you stick to writing topics that are related to your self-esteem. Fortunately, there are several ideas and writing prompts that you can use to keep up with your writing goals, and stay focused. Here are a few of them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a simple, \u2018fill in the blanks\u2019 exercise to get you to recall positive things about yourself. Try a few of these, then think up some of your own:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You get the idea! Hopefully, you can come up with a few more of your own that are personalized for your situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of us have an inner critic who finds fault in everything we do, even criticizes who we are as people. This also known as negative self talk<\/a>. This journaling exercise allows you to get those critical thoughts on paper, then write something to counterbalance those words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The format here is simple. You start by writing a negative statement. Then, you cross that out and create a new or rephrased statement designed to improve self-value. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve learned valuable lessons, and am better prepared to pursue the life I want from here on out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am a work in progress, and I am taking active steps such as using flashcards to better retain information at work, taking online courses, and participating in meetup groups to improve my social life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (In the above example about learning to improve yourself, flashcards are small cards that contain information that you need to remember. Here is an example of some flashcards<\/a>, on Subjecto, a helpful website for learning).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a bit of a creative exercise. It\u2019s not for everyone, but the challenge of writing a poem could create a self<\/a> of accomplishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An acrostic poem incorporates the letters of your name into a poem. Basically, you write a positive, affirming sentence that begins with each letter of your name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Write a very short story about something very meaningful that you\u2019ve accomplished in your life. Choose an event that truly reminds you of your capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The great thing about many of these prompts is that you can repeat them on a regular basis. It\u2019s always helpful to check in with yourself to write about your blessings, accomplishments, and victories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter how successful we may be in the eyes of others, our self-esteem and confidence can often falter for no apparent reason. If there\u2019s anything 2020 has taught us,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13688,"parent":10077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[211],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10044"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10044"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13569,"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10044\/revisions\/13569"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/more-selfesteem.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/AMoreConfidentYouAudio-1024x591.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWhy should you take up journaling in 2021<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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So What Should You Write About In Your Self esteem Journal?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A Tip Before You Start to Write In Your Journal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9 Journal Prompts to Help You Write Each day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Get started journaling today!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
More Self-Esteem Journaling Ideas For When You Get Stuck<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Create a Brag List<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Counter Your Inner Critic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ve wasted years of your life.<\/s><\/p>\n\n\n\nI haven\u2019t achieved my life or career goals.<\/s><\/p>\n\n\n\nAcrostic Poem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tell a Story of Accomplishment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Try Some of These Journal Prompts For Inspiration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n