22 journaling prompts to explore love

With the arrival with of month of love we have seen our screens and streets themed with hearts. Some of us have something special planned for Valentine's day, some of us don't even remember when it is.

Regardless of how you choose to spend or remember this festivity, remember that there’s nothing wrong with showcasing your love for someone (including yourself) not only on a "holiday" but every day. Perhaps this is also an opportunity for us to ask ourselves deeper questions, questions that will help us spread the love every day of the year by raising our awareness and compassion.

So to help those who feel inclined to spend some quality time with themselves and indulge in some self-inquiry, I've created a few questions for different types of people. Oh and if you are reading this and it's not Valentine's day you can still use them as journaling prompts ;)

Find the category to feel that resonates the most with you and take at least two minutes per question to write down the answer (preferably by hand).

Questions to ask (and answer) if you are in a relationship:

How can you listen to your partner’s needs better?

How can you communicate your own needs more effectively?

When was the last time you missed your partner?

What shows you that you and your partner are still growing together?

How can you say “I love you” to your partner without using words?

How does your partner tell you “I love you” without using words?

Questions to ask (and answer) if you are looking for self-love:

When was the last time you went on a date with yourself?

What does it mean to be honest with yourself and when was the last time you were honest with yourself?

What does “self-love” mean to you?

How can you cultivate self love every day?

What parts of you are in conflict with the habits you hold nowadays?

Can you think of a dream that you used to keep in your heart all the time and suddenly forgot about it? What could you do if you still wanted that dream to come true?

How can you show gratitude towards yourself today?

Questions to ask yourself (and answer) if you have children:

What would you like to teach your children about love?

What wouldn’t you like to teach your children about love?

What would you tell your kid if someone broke their heart?

What would you tell your kid if they broke someone’s heart?

How would you describe the love you feel for them without using the word love?

Questions to ask yourself (and answer) if you have a broken heart:

When did it start to feel broken?

Describe a time when you hurt someone’s heart (this doesn’t have to be a romantic interest).

Write what would you like to say to that person you hurt in the past (even if you already apologised or even if you feel they don’t deserve any words or even if you don’t want to ever speak to them again).

If you had all the time in the world, what could you do that would help you start to heal your heart?

Like I mentioned before, take at least two minutes per question to intuitively write down the answer. I prefer writing things by hand and research has shown the effects of handwriting and creating new pathways in the brain. 

I’ve asked myself all these questions at some point in life, and I have asked all these questions to my clients in different coaching sessions. No one’s answer is the same, there’s no right or wrong answers either. The truth is that the most important part of journaling with prompts like this is that it allows us to cultivate a radical honesty with ourselves and that is a truly powerful tool. That is one of my gifts to you this Valentine's day (there are a few other gifts you can find here).

With these short but powerful questions I am confident that if you take the time to answer them they might become a deeply powerful tool that will help you gain balance, increase your awareness, boost your self-belief and ultimately help you start or continue the journey to heal the relationship with yourself.

If you are looking to work with a professional like me, please click 'email me' below or directly book a free 30 minute exploration call/virtual cuppa to discuss what you are looking for and how I can potentially help you: https://calendly.com/carlacarolina/cuppa