09.15.22
25 Journal Prompts for Your Happiest Days
Because, yes, you can journal when you’re feeling good.
Happiness is pretty great, right? Right. And as much as you want to optimize those good vibes, journaling and getting all self-reflective is probably one of the last things on your mind when things are great. But, hear us out: When you’re all smiles and able to soak in joy like a sponge, it’s kind of a perfect opportunity to reflect on your life, your mental health, and all the legit good things happening at the moment.
You’d actually be doing yourself a disservice to reflect only when you’re in crisis mode, licensed psychotherapist and psychoanalyst Babita Spinelli told Wondermind in a previous interview. Instead, it’s a good idea to make mental fitness practices like reflection a daily habit just like brushing your teeth, she says. Think of it like mental health maintenance to keep the good vibes going (and the bad/meh vibes easier to handle).
So, what does one even journal about when everything’s good? On your happy days, you can use daily reflections to journal about the actual joy you feel or about your accomplishments. Oftentimes, we don’t take enough time to talk through those high points with ourselves, says therapist Alo Johnston, LMFT. And if you don’t stop to acknowledge small wins, you're going to feel burnt out, he adds.
It’s also a great way to build a little ~gratitude practice~ into your life, which is super helpful. Because when you spend all your energy thinking about problem areas and not the areas in your life that are going well, “you're gonna start to believe that there are way more terrible things happening than there are good things, and that might not be true,” Johnston explains. So give the “good” some space.
Journaling when you’re happy is also a solid opportunity to ask yourself meaningful questions that you finally have the emotional capacity to address compared to when you’re not doing so great, Spinelli previously noted. Think about what you might need on your worst days, for example, or jot down ways you want to show up for yourself more. Maybe you can even write out some of the things that are currently contributing to your fantastic mood so that you’ll have a list of ideas to try the next time you’re feeling crappy.
So use the happiness journal prompts ahead to process your joy and answer some introspective thought starters. They’ll be totally worth your time, promise.
Behold, some journal prompts for when you’re hella happy:
1. What are you most happy about today, and why?
3. Where do you feel happiness in your body? How does joy show up physically for you?
4. Are there any other emotions aside from happiness that you’re feeling? List them out and describe how they make you feel.
5. What are five goals (big or small!) that you accomplished recently?
6. When was the last time you were proud of yourself? How can you find that same (or similar) pride soon if you haven’t felt it for a while?
7. Are there any aspects of your life that you’re unhappy with? Why, and what might you be able to do to change those things?
8. What do you need when you’re feeling most burnt out? What helps you when you’re super overwhelmed?
9. How do you talk to yourself when you’re happy? How do you talk to yourself when you’re unhappy? Do you notice any similarities or differences?
10. List out five of your greatest strengths and five things you can work on.
11. Who are the people who make you happiest? How are your relationships with those people right now? Is there anything you want to do differently in those relationships?
12. How do you make yourself happy? Can you do more to give yourself that joy?
13. What is one thing that made you smile today, and why?
14. When do you feel most inspired? Can you find that inspiration more frequently than you already do?
15. What’s your happiest childhood memory, and why?
16. Are there any emotions that you think you’ve been avoiding recently? Why are you avoiding them?
17. Write a thank-you note to yourself (to your mind, body, whatever you feel like writing to). What about you makes you thankful?
18. Write a thank-you note to someone who has supported you in life so far. What do you want them to know about what their support means to you?
19. Where do you go, mentally or physically, when you need to feel comforted? Describe a safe space in your life.
20. What do you want to learn next? What makes you most curious in life? (Learning how to properly clean your stove top without smudges counts!)
21. Have you ever appeared to be super happy but you weren’t doing so great internally? Why, in that moment, did you feel like you needed to pretend to feel joy?
22. What is one thing you want to add to your daily routine? What is one thing you want to take away from your daily routine?
23. How did you feel about yourself yesterday? Does it differ from how you feel about yourself today?
24. If you had to guess, what are the biggest things contributing to your good mood right now? How can you make room for more of that in your daily life?
25. How does saying “no” make you feel? What would you like to say “no” more often to?
Wondermind does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a replacement for medical advice. Always consult a qualified health or mental health professional with any questions or concerns about your mental health.
