29 Journal Prompts to Reflect and Integrate Your Growth From the Past Year

Without a doubt, developing a reflective practice has changed my life. It’s so easy to get sidetracked, to forget about the lessons learned, and the tools, routines and habits that once benefited us. We set them aside for a minute, to handle some sort of crisis, and assume we’ll find our way back. But often, we don’t.

Use these journal prompts to reflect on your growth over the past 18 months, recover what may have been forgotten, and incorporate key insights into your life this week.

Context Prompts

1. When everything was cancelled at the beginning of COVID, how did you feel? Relieved? Anxious? 

2. Did you feel pressured to do anything? (For example, to stay active? To garden, bake, or do other domestic activities? To get organized or keep a sparkling clean home?) How did you react to that pressure? Did your reaction evolve over time?

3. Was it easier to say no to activities you didn’t want to do? If so, why?

4. On the surface, it looked like we had less control over every aspect of our lives, but were there any ways in which you felt more in control?

Relationship Prompts

5. Was there a time when you felt especially protective of your loved ones? 

6. How have your relationships grown or changed?

7. What are your hopes for your relationships in the coming year?

8. What was the environment in your home like? Were you generally happy with it? What worked, and what didn’t?

9. Who are you ready to forgive?

What is your key insight about your relationships?

What is one way you can integrate that in your life this week?

Health & Wellness Prompts

10. Did you develop any routines or habits that benefited your health & wellness?

11. Were there times when you felt particularly balanced? Or particularly out of balance?

12. What did you learn about yourself based on these experiences?

What is your key insight about your health and wellness?

What is one way you can integrate that in your life this week?

Self-Care Prompts

13. Who did you take care of during the past year? Would you put yourself on that list? 

14. Did you develop any routines or habits that benefited your self-care?

15. Was there a time when you felt like you snapped? What led to it?

16. What did you learn about yourself based on these experiences?

What is your key insight about self-care?

What is one way you can integrate that in your life this week?

Personal Growth Prompts

17. Did you make any major decisions during COVID? Write about what prompted those decisions, and how they’ve turned out so far.

18. Has your process for making decisions changed? How have you experienced that shift?

19. Do you trust your intuition? Has your trust level changed over the past year?

20. What have you learned about yourself based on these experiences?

What is your key insight about your personal growth?

What is one way you can integrate that in your life this week?

Professional Growth Prompts

21. How has your relationship to work changed? 

22. How did you adapt to the changes that came your way? Take a few minutes to look back and witness the ebbs and flows.

23. Were there ways you learned to support yourself in your work? For example, boundaries you set, or practical ways you cared for yourself throughout the day?

24. What have you learned about yourself, and what you want to contribute in this life? What rhythms will help you stick with it for the long haul?

What is your key insight about your professional life?

What is one way you can integrate that in your life this week?

Moving Forward

25. Is there any area of your life where you feel like you need a reset? 

26. Do you feel stuck? In what areas? 

27. What kinds of stories did you find most inspirational? How can you turn those into insight for your own life?

28. What patterns, emotions, or thoughts are you ready to release?

29. What could be possible for you in the coming year?

What is your key insight about your path forward?

What is one way you can integrate that in your life this week?