Journaling is a powerful way to process thoughts and build self-assurance. The best thing about this activity is that it doesn’t require special skills — all you need is a journal, a pen and an open mind to embrace its benefits. Discover how journaling can help boost your confidence and tips to make it more enjoyable for first-timers.

How Journaling Rebuilds Your Confidence

Here are the key ways journaling helps you reclaim and build confidence:

• Challenges and replaces negative self-talk: Writing down your thoughts helps you see the recurring negative patterns and limiting beliefs that undermine your confidence.
• Creates a concrete record of wins: The human brain naturally focuses on negative things rather than positive ones. Recording your wins builds a tangible, undeniable record of your capabilities.
• Provides a confidence boost: Journaling makes you more mindful, allowing you to gain a better perspective of yourself. On a bad day, you can simply flip through the pages and be reminded of your capabilities.

How to Start and Stick With a Confidence-Boosting Journaling Practice

While journaling is good for your mental health, it can sometimes feel intimidating, especially when you hold certain expectations about it, like you must fill the pages until your hand hurts. However, the truth is, only you can decide what you want to get out of it. Here’s how to make the most of your journaling experience.

1. Turn Off Your Inner Critic

Negative self-talk can lead to self-doubt and questioning of your feelings. Do your best to ignore your inner critic while writing. Just write and let your first entry suck. Don’t focus on organizing your thoughts on the first try. The most important thing is to get your feelings and emotions on the page.

2. Log Your Successes

Success logging is a conscious habit of recording your wins, both big and small. Did you finally get to the gym? That’s a win. Did you manage to say “no” to an extra commitment? Write it down. Did you close a deal? Celebrate it. The goal is to build a tangible record of your competence to help overcome impostor syndrome.

3. Start Small

Make journaling overly easy to do. Write one line, answer a prompt or note how you are feeling in three words. Try simple methods and find your rhythm until you discover what works for you. Some approaches to try include:

• Stream of consciousness: Set a five or 10-minute timer and write whatever comes to mind. Again, don’t focus on organizing your thoughts. Simply let the words flow.
• One-sentence journal: Summarize your day in one sentence.
• Gratitude points: List three to five things you’re thankful for.

4. Use Prompts

Journal prompts provide topics to reflect on, which can be helpful if you’re struggling with conflicting thoughts or want to make journaling a habit. Here are some prompts for when your confidence is low:

• What are the five things you appreciate most about yourself?
• What are you most proud of and why?
• What does strength mean to you?
• Does a friend or family member look up to you? Why do you think they do?
• What’s the last compliment that made you smile?

5. Embrace Inconsistency

Sometimes, we put pressure on ourselves to do something flawlessly, and when we fail, we give up. The thing about journaling is that you’ll never perfect it your first or your fifth time. It takes practice and consistency. Be at peace with missing a day or two. What’s important is that you bounce back.

Write Your Way to a More Confident You

You don’t need anyone else’s approval to know you’re enough — the proof is already within you. Grab a journal and take a few moments to honestly reflect. Remember to start small. Little steps make it way easier to build a journaling habit that sticks.