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101 Powerful Journal Prompts (+ How


Right One)
by Kyle Boureston | New? Start here. | This post contains a liate links (what is this?)

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We all know the extraordinary bene ts of journaling (forboth your mind and body):

It forgesstrongmental health (by enhancing your memory,


elevatingyourmood, and battlingdepression)source

It combatsstress and anxiety(by helping youprioritize, identify you anxietys


patterns/triggers, and focus intensely on thepositives)source
It can even

boostyour immune
system
(meaningfewer
doctors visits, or even
a lower chance of
disease)source

But as you know, you


cantget those journaling
bene ts orreach your
journaling goalsif you
dont have good journal
prompts and as you
journal, youll probably
struggle toconstantly
create the best, powerful, useful, worthwhileprompts.

But if that struggle sounds familiar,dont feel defeated:

You only needa fewpowerful journal topicsto inspire yourwriting.

And Ive found not just one, but 101 of those journal writing prompts
pluscreateda guide for how to choose yourbestprompt.

Out of all 101, I believe theres a worthwhileprompt for every mans journal
and that thisdetailed guide candelivermanyinspiring promptsfor yours.

How To Choose The BestJournal Prompts


ForYou

You couldstart with any prompt from this list (because theyre all good topics)but I
think youd rather carefully choose one that will actually add meaning to your
journal (and make the time you spend journaling worthwhile).

So, how do you carefully choose thatworthwhile prompt?

Simple. Follow these simple threesteps:


Step #1: Understand Why Youre Journaling
And

What Type Of Prompt Will Help You

Before you know if a prompt is rightfor you, you have to knowwhat youre using
your journal for.In other words how can you know aprompt is helpful, if you
dont know what, exactly, you wanta journal to help with?

So ask yourself why youre journaling:

Is it for therapy?

To track progress/behavior/goals?

To write pros/cons lists, or make decisions?

To remember your history?

To stretch your mind?

To practice writing skills?

The right prompt for you will help you meet thatspeci c goalso rst identify it,
and then nd journal topicsthat willhelp you meet it.

Step #2: Know Why You EnjoyJournaling

This step is simple:


Choose journaling topics that sound interesting/enjoyable.

Why is that so important?

Journaling should be a fun, helpful hobby, not a cause for stress. If you choose
prompts that interest you(orwillhelp you become a better man), youll enjoy
journaling, and not feel pressured/stressed to write aboutboring, useless
topics.

Step #3: Understand What Makes Good Journal


Topics

I wanted to see what other people were recommending as good journal prompts,
so I did a few Google searches. What I found was thousands of journaling ideas
most of which were useless.

And in thinking about why they were, I realized that for a prompt to be useful and
worthwhile, it hasto have a few fundamentalcharacteristics:

1. Ithas to help you reach one of the goals above. Any prompt you
choose should help you meet your journaling goal. If its not helping you
reach your goal, whats the point in writing about it?

2. Itshouldnt be too speci c. The purpose of journaling is to explore
your thoughts and if a prompt is too speci c, you can quickly run out of
things to say on that exacttopic.Prompts should be vague enough that
you canhave many thoughts on the subject.

3. Itshould make you think deeply. Now, not all prompts are deep
philosophical questions, but any good journal prompt should make you
think (because the more you think, the more you can write about
plus,most guys would agree, thinking more makes you a vastly better
man).

Every one of the prompts below can meet these criteria: theyre intentionally
vague, can be thought about deeply, and will help with at least one journaling goal.

The Best 101 Journal Prompts, Topics,


And Ideas

These 101 journal prompts are dividedinto 7 sections and each section is
designed to help you reach di erent journaling goals.

Now, remember:

These prompts are just ideas, or jumping-o points for writing. If one of these
journal ideasinspires you with a di erentprompt idea, then write about that!
Here are the sections:

CONTENTS [HIDE]

1) Prompts to Get You Started (21 Prompts)


2) Prompts to Promote Deep Thought (10 Prompts)
3) Prompts to Know Yourself Better(24 Prompts)
4) Prompts for Dealing with Other People (11 Prompts)
5) Prompts to Prepare Yourself for the Future (21 Prompts)
6) Prompts to Deal with Past Events (9 Prompts)
7) Out-of-the-Box Prompts (5 prompts)

Prompts To Get You Started (21 Prompts)

These prompts have two purposes:

1. To get you used to writing down your thoughts. These journal topicsarent
too serious/personal, so beginners wont feel intimidated by them. You can use
these non-invasive promptsto start working towards your journaling goals.

2. To introduce you to stream-of-consciousness writing which is writing


down all your thoughts as they come to you, without stopping/editing. This
technique allows you to deeply explore your own thoughts (and gets you ready for
the Prompts to Know Yourself Better below).

Now:

These topicsarent only for beginners(experienced journalists can use them to


combat writers block), but theyre perfect to help beginners get used to
journaling.

1. WHAT ARE SOME PLACES YOUVE ENJOYED VISITING

You can make this a detailed, organized list (to practice logical writing skills), or
you can freely write about all your favorite places (to practice stream-of-
consciousness writing).

Plus,this list is a great jumping-o point to write aboutplaces you want to visit.

2. DESCRIBE YOUR FIRST GIRLFRIEND IN DETAIL

Its a simple prompt but it will makeyou practice writing and


recallingmemories in detail.

In fact, recalling in-depthdetails can actually help you improve your overall
memory so if you struggle with a poor/weak memory, use any recall
prompt(about the events of your day, your rst airplane ight, your rst pet, etc.)
topowerfully improveit.

3. WHATS A MANLY HOBBY YOU WANT TO PURSUE

This prompt has two potentialbene ts:

1. Youll get writing practice,about whichhobby you want to pursue, why you
want to pursue it, and what youll gain from it

2. Youll be inspired to actually pursue that manly hobby

Heres our list of the besthobbies for men to try seewhat hobbies inspire you.

4. WHEN DID YOU LASTREAD A BOOK, WHY DID YOU READ IT,
AND WHAT IT WAS ABOUT

If you deeply think about this topic not justthe books name, but why you read
it, what it was about, did you like it, did you learn from it, etc. youre actually
learning to explore andanalyzeyour thoughts.
And this skill, self-analyzation, isextremely bene cial in understanding why you do

things (which can help you change your behaviors).

5. WHATS A SECRET HABIT/THING YOU ENJOY

Unless you plan on publishingevery journal entry you write, feel free to use your
journal to getsecrets o your chest.

Writing freely like thiscan behighly therapeutic it gives your brain some relief from
hoardingsecrets.

6. YOURE GOING TO/NEVER GOING TO MOVE AWAY BECAUSE

This is aneasy, fun topic that gets you used to writing

without having to think too deeply (or about painful topics). Justwrite freely about
where you live, and whether or not you want to stay (and why).

7. THE THINGS IN YOUR LIFE THAT ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO


YOU, IN ORDER

Organizingthis list in order of importance makes the prompta little harder, and
you may have to edit your work(which is great if youre journaling to become a better
writer (trust me,even good writers have to edit often)).

And as an added bonus,it can help you realize how grateful you should be for the
good things in your life.

8. WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING HAPPENING AROUND YOU AT THIS
MOMENT

This is the ideal stream-of consciousness prompt:

Write down everything you see, hear, smell, and feel.

Be as detailed as possible, and dont stop writing for a second (dont allow yourself
to re-read and edit sentences as you write let your thoughts ow freely).

9. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON A NEWS STORY

There are so manynews stories (bad and good, local and international) out there
towrite about.

You can journal abouta story you have strong feelings about or tochallenge
yourself a little more, write about the rst story you read (its more challenging
because you havent had time to gather your thoughts on it).

10. WRITE A FOOD/MOVIE REVIEW

This is a fun one and it canhelp you become a better writer.

Be as critical as possibleabout the most recent movie you saw/meal you ate. Build a
logical argument about why the movie/meal was good or bad (make your
readers trust your argument), and use powerfully descriptive language(keep your
readers interested).

11. PLAN OUT, IN DETAIL, HOW TO BUILD SOMETHING

This prompt has two purposes:

1. To get used to using your journal to plan


2. To inspire you to actually build something
Many men use journaling to plan for success, and you can start that
practice
by
planning out how to build a bookshelf, entertainment center, lounge chair, etc. (and
if you actually build the item, its an added bonus).

12. THINGS YOUD TELL YOURSELF AS A TEENAGER IF YOU COULD


GO BACK IN TIME

This prompt isvaluable writing practice thatget you used to thinking/re ecting
deeply.

The older you get, the more wisdom you acquire and if you remember,
teenaged-you probably had little or no inner wisdom to live by.

Write him a letter about things to do, things to avoid, and the important things
tolook forward to.

13. WHAT PLACES WOULD YOU PLAN A ROAD TRIP TO

Heres yet another prompt with two purposes:

1. Get used to using your journal to plan

2. Get inspired to make a budget, plan a route, and go

14. WHAT YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR LOCAL AREA

This one will be easy for men who love where they are and if thats not you, try
writing about your hometown, or favorite vacation spot (or anywhere you love to be).
Use this prompt to practice stream-of-consciousness writing: let your thoughts

ow, and dont stop writing on this topic until you have no more thoughts.

15. YOUR TRAVEL LIST

Listevery placeyou want to go in the world, and what you want to do there.

16. WHEN HAVE YOUBEEN COURAGEOUS

This prompt will get you used to narrating a past event and give you a pretty nice
ego boost.

Think of 3-5 times youve been courageous, and describe them in detail.

17. WHAT THINGS DO YOU HAVE TO BE GRATEFUL FOR

This exercise is good writing practicebut it also helps you use writing to feel
positive.

List everything you can think of to be grateful for, and if you need help, check out our
post on the topic.

After youve listed those things, write about why youre so gratefulto have
eachperson/thing in your life.

18. WHATS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OF YOUR FATHER/MOTHER


Heresa good way to express feelings without having to get too mushy:

If you have a good relationship with your father or mother (or other in uential
guardian) write about your best memory of that person.

19. WHAT WAS THE WORST MOVIE YOU EVER SAW

This is a fun way to practice writing, and learn to freely express thoughts on paper.

Write about a truly awful movie experience. What made it so bad?

20. FROM WAKING TO SLEEPING, HOW WOULD YOU SPEND YOUR


LAST DAY

What activities would you pack into your last day on Earth?

By writing about this, you can discover whats important to you, and what things
to pursue (if these activities are how you want to spend your last moments, shouldnt
you spend more time doing them now?)

21. WHAT DO YOU HOPE HAPPENS WITH THIS JOURNAL

You dont have to know the answer to this question when you start a journal, but
writing about it can help you discover why you have the drive to write.

Prompts To Promote Deep Thought (10 Prompts)



These journal topicsare some of my personal favorites, and they have a very
simple purpose:

To get you thinking deeply.

Look:

When you try to simply meditate on di cult questions/topics (without writing down
your thoughts), its incredibly easy to get distracted.

But when youre actually writing, you slow down and analyze each thought and
are more likely to reach conclusions without distractions.

Now:

I purposefully didnt explain, thoroughly,my interpretation of these prompts


because you should write about what each one means to you.Make sense?

22. HOW DID THE UNIVERSE COME INTO BEING

Where did we come from? And why are we here?

23. DO HUMANS DECIDE TO BE GOOD

Is goodness decided by the person being good or is there a force that drives us
toward/away from goodness?

24. IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT LIFE

Im not talking about your life but life in general (physics, biology, history, etc.).
What would you change?

25. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS

Why/why not? What happens when we die? Does everyone become a ghost?

26. HOW DO YOU DEFINE ART

Is all creation art? How speci c/intentional does an artist have to be?

27. ARE YOU A PACIFIST

Most men are against senseless killing, but what about war? Is it justi ed? To what
extent?

28. WAS MATH CREATED OR DISCOVERED

Ive personally written about this one, and still cant come up with an answer but
its fun to try!Did humans invent math as a way to understand the universe, or is
math a universal language that we merely discovered?

29. IS MORALITY RELATIVE


Basically, this is the age-old where do good and evil come from? question. Since

whats good for one person might be evil for anotherwhere does morality come
from?

30. IS TIME-TRAVEL POSSIBLE

Obviously, we havent done it but can it ever happen in our universe? And what
would happen if it did?

31. DO YOU BELIEVE IN SOUL MATES

Some men believe in a predestined match, and some believethat couples can
make a happy relationship with anyone, not only a soul mate. What do you think?

Prompts To Know Yourself Better(24 Prompts)

Journaling about yourself can help youidentify thenegative patternsin your


thoughts, and make you feel hugely accomplished.

Heres how:

When you write about yourself frequently, your writing will show patterns, or
common thoughts that you have across many journal entries.

When you identify anynegative patterns:like that you thinkyoure a failure, you
blame others for every mistake you make, youre staying with a girl/career that
makes you unhappy, etc., you can resolvethem.

And heres the bestpart:

When you start to xthe problems your journal revealed, youll feel hugely
accomplished.

Bonus: some of these journalideas even help you see positive patterns in your life,
instead ofnegative ones andrecognizingyour positive traits can also make you feel
hugely accomplished.

32. ARE YOU AN OPTIMIST OR PESSIMIST

Do a little research on optimism and pessimism, and determine what you think
those words mean (there are di erent de nitions out there, so de ne the terms for you
before you proceed).

Then re ect, and write about which you think you are.

33. TAKE THE MYERS BRIGGS TEST, AND WRITE ABOUT YOUR
PERSONALITY

The Myers-Briggstest classi es your personality based on 8 di erent personality


types. Takean online version of the test, and read your results.

Now:

Do you agree with thoseresults? And/or did you realize anything new about your
personality?

34. YOU ARE AN EXTROVERT/INTROVERT BECAUSE

This prompt has two meanings:

What do you do that makes you an extrovert/introvert? Basically, which one do


you believe you are, and based on what evidence?

What made you into an extrovert/introvert? Are you extroverted/introverted


because of a parents in uence? Were you born this way? Did a past event make
you change from extroversion to introversion or vice-versa?

35. WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER MINIMALISM

Minimalism, like optimism, can have di erent meanings to di erent people.

Write how you de ne minimalism (here are our thoughts on the subject), and then
write about whether or not you could adopt that lifestyle.

36. YOU WOULD/WOULDNT LIKE A WOMAN TO ASK YOU OUT

You might have had this happen in the past, and you might not but either way,
you can have an opinion on it.

So ask yourself:

Wouldyou like for women to ask you on dates? Or wouldyou feel more
comfortable asking? What exactly makes you feel that way?

37. IF SOMEONE WROTE A BIOGRAPHY ON YOU, WHAT WOULD


THE BLURB BE

The blurb of a biography is the short, 3-5 sentence summary of the persons life.
What do you really think an impartial writer would say in that short space? And do
you like what he would say?

This ones fun but re ecting honestly on your life can be di cult. If you dont like
what the biographer would say about you, how can you change it?

38. WHAT THINGS MAKE YOU ANGRY THE FASTEST

If you struggle with anger, this is a powerful self-help tool.

Know what makes you angry (by taking time to really think about the last few times
you felt anger), and you know what to avoid/work on in the future.

39. YOU ARE GOOD/BAD AT FORGIVENESS

This is another di cult one, because you haveto be honest with yourself (and
you may not like realizing that you forgive too easily, or that youre a bad forgiver). But
heres the thing:

Knowinghow to improve the way you forgive can help make you a better (happier,
more peaceful) man.

If you realize that you arent good at forgiving, see this prompt for your nextjournal
entry.

40. IF 10-YEAR-OLD YOU SAW YOURSELF NOW, WHAT WOULD HE


THINK

What if you, as a 10-year old boy, met yourselfnow, and saw the man
hedbecome what would he think?

Answer honestly.Would he be impressed? Proud? Bored? Disappointed?


41. IF YOU WENT INTO A BAR AND PRETENDED TO BE SOMEONE


ELSE, YOUD BE

This is another way of asking whats your alter ego?


If no one knew you, and you could pretend to be anyone what kind of man

would you be? And why do you admire the traits of that man? Are they traits you
could have for your real self?

42. WHAT REALLY INSPIRES YOU TO WRITE, CREATE, OR SUCCEED


(WHATS YOUR MUSE)

This is a greatquestion for men to ask themselves

because if you know what drives you to succeed, you know what to spend more
time with to succeed even more(whether its a person, place, or activity).

43. WHATS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM YOURE FACING RIGHT NOW

This is a chance to vent about your problem, and/or search for a solution.

Sometimes writing down all your thoughts about a problem can force you
toclearly see a solution you may have missed (when your thoughts about itwere
racing too fast).

44. IF SOMEONE TOLD YOU TO MENTALLY GO TO YOUR HAPPY


PLACE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO

In your journal, describe your happiest place (in as much detail as possible).

This can be a highly therapeutic topic youll feel relaxedas you describe your
place, inspired to actually see that place, and reassuredknowing you can reread
about it whenyou feel stressed.

45. IF MONEY WERE NO OBJECT, HOW WOULD YOU SPEND YOUR
TIME

Heres another way to feel relaxed and inspired:

If you were free to spend all your time doing whatever you wanted, what would
it be?

Bonus: this prompt tells you what you need more of in your life (if you long for
adventure, relaxation, relationships, etc.)

46. WHAT WAS THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE SO FAR

Recall what the best day was, what made it so great, and why it mattered to you
so much.

47. WHAT POLITICAL PARTY DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A


PART OF

Look at the platforms of the major parties and see what you really agree with.

This prompt will help you get some writing practice, havea better view of our
political system, and maybe even learn that you actually agree with the
principles of a di erent party (or no party) than you thought.

48. WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON DRUGS AND ALCOHOL


Just like the above prompt, reaching deep into your thoughts might make you

realize that you actually think something di erent than you imagined.

Plus, youll be better-prepared for debates with friends and/or political elections if
youve prepared your thoughts (and you dont have to stop at drugs/alcohol try
writing about any political topic).

49. ARE YOU HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY MUSIC

Some men are, and some men arent use your journal to decide if music has a
strong e ect on your mood and personality.

Now ask yourself:

Why does/doesnt music have a strong e ect on you, and what kind of music do you
listen to?

50. WHEN DO YOU FEEL THE MOST LIKE YOU

This question is basically asking when are you the most comfortable? Is it when youre
hiking, sleeping, with another person, alone, or working?

Writeabout why you feel like the most you at those times, and what it says about
you.

51. ARE YOU SUPERSTITIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING

You may actually be a little superstitious and not know it or you may think all
superstitions are meaningless.
Either way, write about your opinion, and why you believe/dont believe in

superstitions.

52. YOUR PERSONAL MOTTO

View our resource on choosing a personal motto, and write it down in your journal.

Explain why you chose that one, and what you want to accomplish with it. In
the future, when you need to rely onyour motto, youll have it written down to
reference!

53. YOUR PERSONAL VALUES

Discovering your personal values is actually an important step in determining a


motto.

See our resource for help determining your values, and write down why your
values matter to you.

54. THE TRAITS YOU HAVE THAT MAKE YOU A GREAT MAN

This is a chance to freely brag on yourself (where no one will hear you), and give
yourself a shameless ego boost.

What do you naturally have that makes you a great man: courage? Passion?
Generosity?

55. THINGS YOU CAN DO REALLY, REALLY WELL


55. THINGS YOU CAN DO REALLY, REALLY WELL

Which of your learned skillsset you apart from other men? Negotiating skills?
Cooking? Physical tness?

Use this space in your journal to discover rediscover why you worked hard on
acquiring those skills.

(And like I mentioned above, you can brag freely no one will see.)

Prompts For Dealing With Other People (11


Prompts)

Some peoplejournal to describe feelings that they cant express to speci c people.

And itsa powerful use for a journal: you can freely get your thoughts out, but
you dont have to deal with the anxiety/consequences of sharing them.

Now:

Sometimes this type of journaling feels good (in letting your true feelings out), and
sometimes re ecting on emotionsyou nd painful is well, painful.

But either way, expressing your honestfeelings is a form oftherapy, andcan help
stop thefeelings of regret/remorse/anger/debt to the people youre writing about.
source

56. WHAT PERSON HAS BEEN THE STRONGEST INFLUENCE ON


YOU
Who has done the most to makeyou the man you are? This persons in uence can

be bad or good, but its undeniably powerful.

Now:

Are you grateful to this person, or angry? And are you glad this person entered
your life?

57. HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR FATHER/BEST


FRIEND/BROTHER

Think about the man youre closest to, and list what you know about his past and
personality.

Do you wish you knew him better?

58. THINGS YOU CAN DO BETTER FOR YOUR WIFE/THINGS SHE


CAN DO BETTER FOR YOU

This prompt can have at least onepositive outcome: a stronger relationship for you
and your partner.

Be honest about your shortcomings with your wife/girlfriend. Willyou try harder
to be a better boyfriend/husband? Andwillyou tell her what she can do better?

59. WRITE A LETTER TO SOMEONE YOU NEED TO FORGIVE

Look:
Whether or not youcanactually tell this personyour feelings, writing about them

can help you work through your anger (freeing you, in a sense, from holding on to
that anger).

Write the person you should forgive an honest letter. After you write it, document
how you feel do you feel better?

60. HOW DO YOU SEE PROGRESS IN YOUR SON/DAUGHTER

If youre a dad, you know how important it is for your children to become good
people.

So take a page or two and brag on your kids. How are they becoming good
people? Do you have any part in that?

61. WHO ARE YOU PROUD OF

The person youre proudest of could be your kids, or your wife, or your best
friend.

Why are you so proud of them? Would you ever tell them that youre proud?

62. WHO ARE YOU PROUD TO HAVE CHOSEN YOU

This ones a little confusing, so let me explain:

There might be a man or woman that has chosen to be close to you. And not just
any man or woman areally great person, and a powerful in uence. Youre proud
of yourself that such a great person chose to be your friend.

Who are they? What makes them so great? Why did they choose to be close to you?

63. WHAT RAISING TECHNIQUE DO YOU DISAGREE WITH YOUR


PARENTS ABOUT

Whether or not youre raising kids yourself, you can have strong opinions about
your parents style of child-rearing.

Are you angry/proud of your parents for how they raised you? What would you do
di erently when raising your own children?

64. WHAT PERSON HAS BEEN THE STRONGEST INFLUENCE ON


YOUR CURRENT POSITION

Why are you where you are? Was it a decision in uenced by someone else? A push
you needed? Or was it you?

And are you grateful to this in uential person, or angry with them about where you
are in life?

65. WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR BOSS

You can thank your boss for pushing you and giving you the opportunities you
have

or you can really let him have it. Either way, its therapeutic to get it out.

66. WRITE A LETTER TO SOMEONE YOU WANT TO FORGIVE YOU

Write a deep apology to someone you want to forgive you (whether you send it or
not).

Prompts To Prepare Yourself For The Future (21


Prompts)

A great use for a journal is to trackgoals, fears, and successes basically, to


useyour journal tostay motivated, track your progress, understand why you
have/havent succeededand form strong plans to succeed next time.

All these journal prompts help you reach those goals by helpingyou use past
events to plan for yourfuture.

Pretty cool, right?

67. THINGS TO DO TODAY, THIS WEEK, THIS MONTH

Heres a great use for a journal: keep track of all your important tasks.
Itcan get you in the habit of writing things down and referencing your journal

(a good habit, if you want to useyour journal more) plus, it helps you stay on top of
your to-do list.

68. HOW ARE YOU A DIFFERENT MAN THAN YOU WERE 10 YEARS
AGO

Really re ect for this one: how are you di erent (both in positive and negative
ways)?

And dont just write about your income and location. Those things change for
almost every man over 10 years. Examine your personality, values, skills, and lifestyle
as well.

Once youve identi ed how youve changed, identify how you want to change in the
next 10 years.

69. YOUR 5-YEAR PLAN

Every man should have a vision for where hell be in 5 years and it makes sense,
right? If you dont have a general goal for your life in the future, how do you know
what to work on?

Think of your 5-year plan like a road map, leading you to that vision.

Keep the plan in your journal, where you can be inspired by it often.

70. WHAT WAS THE BEST PART OF THIS WEEK


If you habitually write downthe weeks best momenteach Fridaywhen you reread

it on Monday morning, you can put yourself in a positive mindset for the week.

71. YOUR COMPANY WOULD BE SO MUCH BETTER IF


Executives who dont know the employees or customers often make most of the

decisions and the longer you work anywhere, the more you notice whatcould be
done better.

So ask yourself:

What are some things youd do di erently/better if you were the CEO?

Planning a hypothetical like this can prepare you to make big decisions at work in the
future and can help you come up with creative solutions at work now.

72. WHAT HABITS DO YOU WANT TO FORM, TO MAKE YOURSELF


A BETTER MAN

Therere always things you can do to make yourself a better man, right?

Use your journal to write some of them down and then document your success
with them (this can help keep you accountable, and make you feel great when you
nally form the good habit).

73. WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST MISTAKE THIS WEEK

This is a powerful prompt that you should try to use every week.

Tracking your mistakes can help you identify patterns and hopefully inspire you
to correct your most common mistakes.

74. HOW TO MANAGE YOUR FINANCES THIS YEAR


A written plan can help you stick to a goal source , and since nancial goals are so

important (yet sohard to stick to), writethem down in your journal.

Write down your budget, how youll invest, and what youll save for this year, then
stick to it.

75. WHATS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM YOU HAVE WITH WOMEN

Using your past to plan for the future doesnt have to mean at work because a
large number of men want to be successful with women, too.

So identify your biggest problem with women, and why you have that problem.
Once you identify the problem, youre better prepared to overcome it.

76. HOW DO YOU RESPOND IN CRISIS

Your crisis-response technique is the clearest after a crisis (when you can ask how
did I handle that?), but its best to know before a crisis happens.

Take some time and really think about how you respond when theres a crisis. Do
you panic? Get angry? Shut down? Most importantly, how can you handle a
crisis better next time?

77. HOW CAN YOU MANAGE TIME BETTER

Almost every man struggles with time management when we have so much
to do, it can be incredibly hard to prioritize (and prioritizing poorly can lead to
important things not getting done).
Use your journal to plan how youll manage time better, and what things you

should prioritize.

78. YOUR TOP 5 SHORT-TERM GOALS

This is a very di erent prompt than Your 5-year Plan above. Instead of asking where
you want to be in 5 years, youre asking:

What 5 short-term goals now will help you get to the next step in your 5-year
plan?

Basically, youre planning for how to reach your 5-year goal. Cool, right?

79. THE WOMAN YOU WANT TO MARRY IS

Listthe traits in a wifethat are really important to you.

Now ask yourself:

If youre singleare you looking the right places to meet this woman? If youre
dating someonedoes the woman youre with show these traits?

80. WHAT SINGLE THING CAN YOU DO TOMORROW TO SAY THE


DAY WAS A SUCCESS

This simple task helps you prioritize. You probably have 100+ things to do this
week, but if you focus onthe most important one to do tomorrow, you wontget
as overwhelmed with less importanttasks.
Make a habit of writing down the most important goal for the day, and completing

it rst.

81. THINGS IN THE NEXT YEAR YOURE LOOKING FORWARD TO

This prompt is designed to make you feel positive about the coming year.
What are you looking forward to meeting goals? Getting married? Starting a

business? Taking a vacation? Whatever it is, use your journal to express your
excitement, and consciously make plans during the year to get to that goal.

82. WHAT ARE YOUR AWESOME, INVENTIVE IDEAS

You know you have some ideas about how to make life better/easier.

Use your journal to write them down, plan them out, and maybe even nd a way to
make them happen.

83. IF YOU COULD CHOOSE A MENTOR, IT WOULD BE

If you dont have a mentor, I strongly suggest you nd one (mentors are highly
believed to help men reach goals source).

Write in your journal who you think would be a good mentor for you, and why you
want to have that person coach you. Would you ever ask him to mentor you?

84. YOUR EULOGY

Write a speech to be read at your funeral if your funeral was tomorrow.

This seems a little morbid, but it can help you realize the important things youve
done in your life and realize what important things you still want to
accomplish.

85. WHAT CIRCUMSTANCE HAS ALTERED YOUR PATH THE MOST


85. WHAT CIRCUMSTANCE HAS ALTERED YOUR PATH THE MOST

Re ect on the one mishap/decision/circumstance has led you to where you are right
now. Would you repeat it?

86. WHAT ARE THE PROS/CONS OF MARRIAGE

What do you really think about the institution of marriage?

This is obviously an important prompt for a man considering marriage but its
also good for single men to know (because you shouldnt date a girl with di erent
marriage views, right?).

87. HOW MANY JOBS HAVE YOU HELD, AND WHAT YOU DID YOU
LEARN FROM EACH

No matter how crappy a job was, it wasnt a waste of time if you learned
something from it.

Take some time and write down everything youve learned from your jobs (even the
crappy ones). Have your jobs taught you things that have made you a better man?
Are you choosing jobs that arent teaching you enough?

Prompts To Deal With Past Events (9 Prompts)

Ive mentioned that journaling has been successfully used in psychotherapysource


andso I chose to include journal topicsthathelp work through a di cult
time/set of feelings (like you would in psychotherapy).

Now:

I do suggest that you speak to a therapist before you start journaling on these
di cult topics, and use that personfor support during this time.

88. WHATS THE MOST UPSETTING THING THATS EVER HAPPENED


TO YOU

Remember why it upset you so much. Does it still upset you?

89. WHO ARE THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE WHO
SUPPORT YOU

No matter what youve been through, there are probably people in your life who
want to help you through anything. Use this journal space to remind yourself
who you have to lean on.

90. WHATS THE MOST AFRAID YOUVE EVER BEEN

Recall the worst experience youve had with fear. Are you still afraid?

91. WHAT THINGS DOES FEAR HOLD YOU BACK FROM DOING

What are you not accomplishing, because youre afraid? Ask yourself how you
can work past fear to accomplish those things?

92. WRITE A LETTER TO SOMEONE YOU LOVE, BUT CANT EXPRESS

For whatever reason, you may be unable to tell someone you love them. Tell them
in your journal, and let those thoughts out.

93. WRITE A LETTER TO SOMEONE YOU HATE, BUT CANT EXPRESS

This is the reverse of the above prompt: let your thoughts out in your journal.

94. WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT WORRYING

Make a list of worries, and ask yourself: are these good reasons to worry?

95. WHAT ARE THE FLAWS AND STRENGTHS OF YOUR PHYSICAL


APPEARANCE

Make two equal lists of the good and bad things about you. What can you change?

96. WHATS THE BIGGEST GUILT YOU HAVE

All men experience guilt. Write freely about your guilt in your journal, whereyou
can be honest because no one else will read it.

Out-Of-The-Box Prompts (5 Prompts)

Theres one important thing to remember:



This journal is yours, and you can use it however you want.Ifyou just dont
feellike writing on a prompt, thats ok. Try one of these 5 alternate uses for your
journal.

Youll still be creating content, and you can still useyour journal to think deeply, or
reach a goal.

97. PEOPLE WATCH, AND MAKE UP A STORY FOR PEOPLE YOU SEE

Go to any public place and quietly observe people around you (a public park works
great, since most people you see will stay for a while giving you more time to observe).

While observing them, write a fake character sketch for the persons identity,
history, personality, quest, downfalls, etc.

This is insanely fun, and doing it can help you create good character
sketches/story ideas.

98. DOCUMENT AN EXPERIMENT (COLD SHOWER, PALEO DIET,


NEW WORKOUT)

If youre thinking of trying something new: a new diet, a new workout, a social
experiment, or a personal challenge (like cold showering), you should absolutelyuse
your journal to document it.

Why is that?

Youll remember every detail of your experiment (and be able to turn your notes
into a book/article if you want), and youll be able to see what mistakes you made
(and/or where your willpower was weak).

99. KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL

If you want to eat healthier, try to keep a journal of what you eat.

Knowing that youll write down everything you eat keeps you more accountable and
can help you stick to your healthy eating plan. source

100. DRAW!

Who says journaling has to be in words?

If you express thoughts well through pictures, use your journal as a sketchbook.
You can even combine words with sketches.

101. RE-WRITE AN OLD JOURNAL ENTRY NOW

Find an older prompt (from a year or more ago), where you express thoughts about
yourself. Read what you wrote, then completely re-write it. How have your
thoughts changed?

Try doing this several times over the course of journaling. Looking back, and
re ecting on your old self, can help you see how youve become a powerfully better
man as the years pass.

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