7 days of journal prompts to increase happiness

Happiness is something we all strive for. I’m sure if you ask anyone what they want to be ‘happiness’ will be up there. Being happy is an elusive feeling that can creep up on us and then suddenly leave. It’s something we constantly strive for often forgetting that we get to choose to be happy every day. I want to highlight that it is absolutely OK to feel sad, angry, upset, frustrated etc. All of these emotions and feelings are valid and are signals to us. They are not something to be suppressed or disregarded. After all, we wouldn’t know the bliss of pure happiness if we didn’t appreciate the lows. But there are definitely mindset shifts and activities we can do to increase the amount of time we feel happy. Journalling is a perfect way to uncover the secrets to our own happiness and so here are 7 days worth of journal prompts to increase happiness.

Journal prompts to increase happiness

The first few days are about finding out what you think happiness is and what kind of things make you feel happy. Day three and four are about acknowledging the ways in which we block or limit our own happiness. The final few days tackle some of the things we can do regularly to help us feel happier.

Day one:

What does happiness look like to me?

This question may seem a little bit abstract and so full sentences aren’t needed. Write down whatever comes to your mind when you read this sentence. It might be colours, weather types, nature, places, people etc…

What activities currently make me happy?

This is in a similar vein to the first question but gets you to be more specific about actual activities that make you happy.

Day two:

In the past month, what were my three happiest moments?

When you feel like you don’t have much happiness in your life it is easy to focus on times you have felt unhappy or sad in order to reinforce this belief. The point of this journal prompt is to challenge that and get you to think about moments where you’ve recently felt happiness. It can also be useful as it helps remind you what activities and situations make you happy.

What skills, talents, competencies do I have that I’m most proud of? Which makes me the happiest?

This prompt is to really get you thinking about how you yourself play an important role in your happiness. You have a lot of skills and talents that you probably take for granted. This is about appreciating and celebrating yourself

Day three:

What characteristics do I think happy people have?

Write a list of 10 character traits that you think happy people have. Maybe you think they’re organised, productive, active…

What do I think are current barriers to my happiness?

This is about noticing and acknowledging the things that you think are stopping you from being happy. This can be things like daily activities, the people you hang out with, your job…

Day four:

How do I hold myself back from being happy?

This is similar to the last couple of prompts but this is about really focusing on how you play a role in your happiness. Do you have a negative mindset around happiness? Do you put yourself down? Are you a little pessimistic? Part of self-love and creating a beautiful life is being honest with yourself about how you are holding yourself back from the life you want.

What do I think needs to change in my current life in order to be happy?

This leads on from the previous days but instead of just acknowledging the things that are holding you back, you’re focusing on what actually needs to change. This helps you start being creative about how you can make these changes.

Day five:

What are three things I am grateful for today?

Gratitude is a really powerful way to gain more happiness. Honestly, it’s one of the biggest things that’s change my mindset and my life. It’s so simple but can make a huge impact. So, get thinking about what you’re grateful for, what you appreciate in your life. An attitude of gratitude brings about more reasons to be grateful. Don’t think these have to be huge things, just having a roof over your head is something to be grateful for.

Write a list of one-to-three happiness affirmations

Affirmations are another great way to instantly improve mood. Think of one-to-three happiness affirmations that are personal to you and take time for the next week to say them to yourself each day. Here are a few examples for inspiration; “I deserve to be happy,” “I am grateful for everything I have so far.”

Day six:

Appreciate three beautiful things from today

The world is beautiful but we are often too locked into our minds or our own routine that we don’t even notice them. Today try to think of three things that you found beautiful. This can be things like nature, experiences, people, places etc…

Mindful moment: right now what is something I can see, smell, and touch.

Being in the present moment is a great way to increase happiness. We often get trapped in the past or stressed about the future and it causes us to feel unhappy or anxious. So, take a mindful moment for yourself, and see if you can include this into your daily routine.

Day seven:

Incorporating the happiness characteristics into my life

Look back at the list of characteristics you wrote for the journal prompt on day three. Now write a list of the ways in which you could start to incorporate each of the character traits into your life. E.g. if you wrote happy people are productive what could you start doing to be more productive. If you put that they’re kind, what can you do to be kinder?

Making time for happiness

Look back to the journal prompts from day one about what happiness looks like to you and what activities make you happy. How can you start making more time to do these activities? How can you make time to be happy? Can you create a morning routine, schedule time each day to go out in nature, make more plans with people you love?

Happiness is available to you

These journal prompts to increase happiness are designed to get you thinking about what makes you happy, what stops you being happy, and how you can start creating a reality that makes you happier. I want to add that simply doing these prompts isn’t going to make you happier. The point is to help you learn about yourself and explore ways in which you can make your life happier.

I’d love to hear some of the things that make you happy? Let me know in the comments below 🙂

If you’re looking for more guidance and journaling activities…

Wild Goddess is my 11-week signature programme that is designed to help womxn become more confident and comfortable as themselves so they can feel empowered to speak their truth, create a life they love and become their own source of love and happiness. If you’re ready to learn more about how to become connected to yourself and showing up fully without fear this is your invitation for all of that and more.