Journal prompts for when you’re feeling stuck
It’s an experience everybody goes through at some point in life - things were working for a while and somewhere along the way, almost without you noticing, you transitioned into a different period. This period, where you feel stuck.
When you get to this place (and especially if you feel like you’ve been here for a while), it can feel like falling into quicksand - everything you do only makes it harder and harder to get out.
So often people tend to go into a bigger negative spiral and keep themselves stuck even longer than they have to be. But you’re not most people…
One of the most accessible, affordable and useful tools in our mindset journey, in my opinion, is also the one that has serious power to jumpstart movement in a different direction when you’re feeling stuck.
That tool? Journaling.
Forcing ourselves to physically write (yes, has to be by hand) actually activates a different part of our brain than when we’re having the sort of internal dialogue with our thoughts. It can force us to slow down and consider more actively. It also can be helpful by externalizing our thoughts - literally “getting them out,” which can help us feel like they have less power over us.
So today I wanted to give you a little free resource if you’re feeling in this “stuck” mode - some great journal prompts to use to work through the stuck. Let’s go…
Best journal prompts for if you’re feeling stuck
One of the most important things you need to understand about feeling stuck is that it’s not really a feeling, per se. It’s not like hunger or happiness or exhaustion.
Feeling stuck is really more “thinking I’m stuck.”
It’s a mental experience where you feel like your motion or momentum toward the things you want has stalled.
You have expectations of where you should be or how quickly you should be getting there but you’re not currently living up to those expectations.
This is a powerful insight as we start trying to unwind the feeling of being stuck because unlike a feeling like anger or resentment that is primarily housed in the body and will always need a combination of mind and body to address, when we are feeling stuck (or “thinking stuck”), we have the power to really make a difference on it with our mind.
“Why do I feel stuck?” Prompts
Start with these types of prompts so we can dig into exactly the concept above and figure out where the disconnect is starting:
What is the pattern in your life you are most frustrated by? What do you think this pattern means about you?
What areas in your life do you feel like you have no control over or feel powerless to change? If you are not able to affect this, who do you feel like is in control or has the power to change things?
What do you need to let go of that you might be holding on to?
How might you have been hiding or avoiding something you know you need to address but are hesitant or scared to face?
An important reflection on things in our life that we don’t feel in control over…
One of the most common ways we keep ourselves stuck is by undervaluing the amount of influence or power we have in situations.
Why do we do this? This can often be a clever trick of our minds because it knows that if we take responsibility for this pattern or area of our life, we’re going to have to look more closely at some painful memories or self-sabotage patterns that are keeping us safe (but getting in the way of the big dream we say we want).
This is something I talk about often with clients - one of the most powerful ways to get unstuck is to recognize areas where we might be unnecessarily playing the victim.
“What do I want instead?” Prompts
These prompts are going to shift your attention to the desired state so you can begin identifying what to do next (take that power back girlie!):
What do you want for your life that you might have been scared, ashamed or felt was greedy to want?
Who do you admire? What about them do you admire? If you could select pieces of their life that you’d copy+paste in to yours what would they be?
Who are you envious or jealous of? What are you drawn to about them? If you could select pieces of their life that you’d copy+paste in to yours what would they be?
If you had a magic time machine and could wake up tomorrow inside of your life a year from now and be living your absolute dream, what would it look like? What your day would look like at 6a, 9a, 12p 3p, 6p and 9p.
Now from all of these brainstorms, we are going to focus on the most important part of this exercise - I find that many clients when they start inside my programs have an idea of the logistics of their dream life - what kind of house they’d be living in, their relationships status, and how much money they’d be making - but they haven’t often considered what the experience of that life will be in between their ears.
Because in fact, I’ve worked with many clients who say “I have xyz that I dreamed about a couple years ago” but it doesn’t feel like I expected.
I’ve experienced this personally - I remember dreaming of having my own place, designed just to my liking and being able to host gatherings whenever I wanted. I thought that this experience would make me feel grounded, safe and connected to my friends. And yet when I had the apartment and was having Friendsgivings, holiday parties, etc. I still wasn’t feeling what I wanted. Upon reflection, it’s because while my external surroundings changed, the thoughts inside my head hadn’t. During the holiday party I hosted, my thoughts were focused on the friends who hadn’t shown up rather than being present for those that had. This is a perfect example of why mindset and thought work is THE missing piece for many people’s satisfaction!
Which brings us to the superpower moment of these journal prompts:
Considering who I admire and what of them I’d like to replicate in my own life, what thoughts do I think they’re having about themselves in these areas?
Considering who I’m envious of, what feelings or thoughts do they get to experience about themselves in these areas of their life?
Considering my dream life, what are the thoughts you’d be having about yourself as you’re going about whatever you described?
“How to start getting unstuck?” Prompts
Now taking the insights gained from the previous section, we’re now going to shift our focus to the future. These prompts are going to focus you in on what is within your control and to zero in on the actions you want to take next to create change:
What stops me from having the thoughts (and eventually the beliefs) about myself that I want?
If you feel like you have amassed evidence that is counter to the beliefs that you want to have, what evidence might have you accidentally overlooked that would support your desired thoughts? (We are very selective in our memory and biased in our narration of our lives!) If you had to look for it, what proof could you find that you can have the thoughts you’d like about yourselves?
Considering the thoughts of those I admire, envy or dream life me, what could I change about my schedule that would make it easier for me to have those thoughts? What could I change about my logistics or surroundings to have those thoughts? What could I change about how I take care of myself to have those thoughts?
What to do next to get unstuck
Journaling is a powerful practice to intentionally tune into our desires, our patterns, and the insight we already have but might not tune into all the time. But I’m sure you know that journaling alone will not change your life.
I leverage journaling regularly and it’s a big part of most of my programs but it is only as powerful as you implement on the insights that you gained.
So these journaling prompts probably surfaced a lot of opportunities for you to take your power back and start creating some changes in your life, big and small, where you can start to feel momentum.
The key thing is to ride the wave of momentum - in this moment, you’re feeling more energized and motivated than you might have in recent history. Do not let your safety-focused survival brain talk you out of things as a way to keep you safe exactly where you are.
Remember feeling stuck isn’t a place, it’s a lack of action. It’s thinking you are stuck.
In fact, every day you have all the permission and power you need to make change.
Whether it’s powering through some of the small actions you brainstormed so you can look back at how many actions you took, even if they’re small, or taking one big step to make a shift (this might mean getting another therapy session on the calendar or finally investing in that program to learn how to shift your dating patterns), the key is to do something while you’re motivated.
If you enjoyed these journaling prompts and would like even more support as you work through the steps necessary to create your dream life, then I’d definitely encourage you to check out Confidence Club - inside this super accessible program, I hold clients accountable to the consistency and action they want to take in changing their lives. It’s almost like we’re using people pleasing to our advantage.
If you’re going to tackle it solo, then rock and roll, my friend. The time for action is now!