6 journal prompts to help you embody your true self

How good are you at being you?

This is a question I heard someone ask the other day and it really made me think. Initially, I wanted to say that I am pretty damn good at being myself. I’m the best person at it, in fact. No one else can or will be me so I must be a pro. But after looking a little deeper I realized that I can be pretty fucking terrible at it.

How often do I put my need first? Am I actually doing the things that I want or am I doing them because I feel like I have to?

Have I set my own expectations or am I living out the expectations of others?

I can honestly say that for a good chunk of my life, I’ve been doing a lot of things because I think that I should, rather than doing it because I actually want to, unfortunately.

Growing up I was told to believe certain things without question. That’s just the way it is. Blind faith so to speak. And I’m not saying that I didn’t learn some valuable things with that mindset. I actually believe that it’s helped me become more respectful in the long run because it’s allowed me to really take in other opinions and process them. But I think from a very young age it removed my strength and confidence to think for myself and gather my own genuine opinions. Even as a young child I can remember struggling to fully resonate with things I was told to believe. In fact, I was told that it was normal and to just move past it.

As I got older I started to form more of my own opinions, yet I still struggled with speaking my truth. I would find myself doing things with other people just because it’s what they wanted to do even though deep down I wanted to do something else. In conversations I would shake my head and agree even when I really didn’t, just to avoid conflict or in fear of feeling stupid. I didn’t know how to speak my truth. In all honesty, I’m still trying to figure it out. I still struggle because I am still learning what my truth really is.

A lot has changed for me in recent years. After dealing with depression, anxiety, and all the other stressors of life I had to take a long, hard look in the mirror. I had to ask myself what it is that I want. How do I want to live my life? What do I want my life to look like? Who do I want to be around? How do I want to feel? What are the things that help me feel that way?

Getting clear on that meant I had to take solid action toward achieving those things. It’s been hard. I mean really fucking hard. And it still is. I am still working through all of this.

Do I feel like I have it all figured out? Am I living my dream life? Hell no!

But each day that I focus on myself, my wants, and my needs, I feel like I’m getting closer. I don’t think I’ll ever have it all figured out. Life is a constant lesson. We’re always learning. However, I do think that a shift in mindset, by being 100% honest and real with yourself, can make the world of a difference. Once I started to realize that everything in life was happening for me and not to me, it all changed.

Instead of being so defensive and reactive, I started to just take things in and process them for what they really were.

How does this make me feel?

Why do I feel that way?

How can I pivot to feel better?

Spending time with myself and getting honest about my thoughts and feelings has been a game changer. Once I became honest with myself it became easier to be honest with others, too. And let me tell you when you can speak your truth in a calm, respectful way it feels fucking amazing! I can feel the shift of getting closer to alignment. Closer to my true self. My highest self. I’m finally starting to get better at being me.

I want to ask you, and I encourage you to be honest with yourself and really think about it, how good are you at being you?

Some journal prompts that might help you reflect on and process this could be:

• How often do I do things for myself?
• Am I saying yes to things because I want to do them or is it because I feel I should do this because of someone else?
• Am I feeling depleted more than I am feeling rejuvenated?
• What are the things that bring me joy?
• Do I have an abundance of those things in my life or are they a rare occurrence?
• How am I feeling right now? Is it how I want to feel? If not, what can I do to get closer to feeling the way I want to feel?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. If you feel inclined I encourage you to please share them here in the comments. So often we can find many gems of wisdom from others, even if it’s a perspective we’ve never considered or necessarily resonated with before. This is a safe space so even though I encourage any and everyone to share their thoughts and opinions, please be considerate and respectful of others. There is no room for hate here.

With that being said, I want to thank you for being here and for taking the time and space to connect. Not only with me and the others on this page, but also with yourself too.

Much love to you all 💛