49 Writing Invitations for Mental Health, Self-Awareness, and Personal Development
Some support to start and keep a daily writing habit
Starting a daily writing practice eight years ago has been one of the most powerful decisions I’ve ever made.
If you want to start, give yourself about 5–25 minutes each morning, preferably as early as you possibly can, before you look at your phone, but after you’ve made yourself some nice tea or coffee.
You might also like to follow these basic rules of free-writing to ensure that you’re writing in a way that promotes the presence of mindful (non-judgmental) awareness and self-care.
Beyond all that, sometimes it helps to have some questions to get you started. Here are forty-nine of them. Whichever prompt seems most alive: go for it!
And if you have favorite writing prompts or stems that you use, add them in the comments!
49 Invitations for Daily Writing
What is on my mind right now? I think that______
What do I most need to say? I need to say that __________
What do I most need to hear? I need to hear that ___________
What do I need to remember today? Remember that_______
What am I grateful for? I am grateful for _______
Where is my heart right now? My heart is _______
What kind and loving things can I say to myself? You are ________
Who am I right now? What roles do I play? I am __________
What do I believe? I believe that ______
What am I doing? Each day, I ________
What matters most to me right now? I care about ___________
Where am I? Describe the scene in detail. I am writing in my ______
What is in my immediate surroundings? Outside my window, __________
What does “success” mean to me? For me, success is ________
Why do I want to write? I write to ___________
(If you’re angry) Why am I angry? It really pisses me off that ______
(If you’re happy) Why am I happy? I am so happy that _______
What did I learn yesterday? Yesterday, I learned _____
What do I need to process this week? This week, I saw _______
How could I design my ideal day today? Today, I will ____
How do I want to be remembered? I hope that when I’m gone, ______
Who do I want to thank? I want to thank _______ because ______
Write a letter to a friend. Dear _______, I am writing to say that _____
Write to count your blessings. I am fortunate because I _____
What is going well? I am glad that _______
What do you want to improve? Why? I want to improve___ (so I can ___ )
What am I afraid of? I am afraid that ________
What is life for? Life is all about _____
What is work for? Work is about ______
What do you like the most about your current job? I like that my job _____
What does your play look like? I am playing when I _______
When are you at your most joyful? I am most joyful when ________
What is love? For me, love is _______
Who matters to you? Why? ______ matters to me because _____
How can I take better care of myself? I need to ______
How can I make better decisions? I can make better choices if I _____
What are your favorite books? Why? My favorite books are _______
What are your favorite movies? Why? My favorite movies are _______
Who are you when you are most proud of yourself? Write down six to eight words. I am most proud of myself when I am _______
What words do you want engraved on your tombstone? Write down six to eight words. They must be true. If I had eight words on my tombstone, they would be _______
What’s next? Where do you go from here? Today, I’m going to ______
What synchronicity or serendipitous events happened this week? This week, I noticed ____
What do I want to study? I’m most curious about _______
Who might I be able to help? I could offer my_____ to help _____
What do I wonder? I wonder ______
What’s the most important question I could be asking? Question: ____
What do I resolve to do this year? I resolve to _______
What good have I done this week? This week, I have _______
What good could I do this week? This week, I could ______
~~~
Random Note:
On Invitation #20 — How would you design your ideal day ?— Hugh Jackman’s life coach recommends writing in the past tense as if the day already happened. Then you can go back at the end of the day and score your day based on how well you met the goals that you designed for yourself.
For Jackman, (and for myself when I do this), these goals are less a to-do list of what you want to accomplish, and more a to-be list of qualities you want to embody. Instead of “Today, I made Erica lunch” you would write, “Today, I cherished the time I spent with Erica. I was really present and loving.”
For Further Reading
Read and Follow Julia Cameron’s directions for “Morning Pages” in The Artist’s Way. Give yourself seven weeks. (It’s a 12 week program, but I put the book down after seven. The habit of “morning pages” still sticks eight years later).
Read Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. Also great for some Zen philosophy — an extended invitation to be more present, to learn to trust your mind as it is, and to learn from your experience as it is. Goldberg writes:
“There’s freedom in being a writer and writing. It is fulfilling your function. I used to think freedom meant doing whatever you want. It means knowing who you are, what you are supposed to be doing on this earth, and then simply doing it.”
For Further Community Support
We learn best in real groups, in real time… and the same goes for starting a new habit. There are different online services to help you “find a writing group near me” — but if you want to use free writing as a tool for personal and professional growth, I’m building the Wisdom Workshop — www.wisdomworkshop.io.
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