Journal Prompts
In addition to questions posed in the blog post on Ikigai, these are questions to consider asking yourself in a journal when you are trying to figure out:
what you want to do;
what gives you a sense of purpose or meaning;
what you want to do with your time, when you have more time on your hands; or
what might help you to shake your life up in some way, if that’s what you feel is needed.
There are three key areas to reflect on
Creativity/Curiosity e.g., inventiveness, the use of the imagination to create something; a strong desire to know something/learn about something.
Connection and Belonging e.g., family, friends, relationships, faith or spirituality (i.e., “whilst personal spirituality may be practiced within a faith tradition, it includes a deeply felt and perceived connection with a higher power” [i]).
Contribution – e.g., serving others/the community in some way. Giving value to someone else.
Journal Prompts
The following questions are not exhaustive but might help you to get started exploring the direction you might want to go in:
What are my values?
Am I engaging in the things and behaving in a way that I believe to be reflective of the person I want to be?
Am I being true to myself?
Am I surrounding myself with people who are supportive and reflect the values I want to live by?
What do I want my life, or this part of my life, to look like?
What are all the things I love to do?
What type of activities engage me?
What do I look forward to doing?
What am I good at?
What do friends and family often ask me to do for them?
What would I do, even if I wasn’t being paid for it?
What are the growth opportunities around me? Do they align with my values and the type of person I wish to be?
What did I used to do that I enjoyed but for whatever reason has dropped off my schedule?
Is there anything that I would like to do more of? Is there anything I would like to do less of?
Is there anything I would like to learn more about?
What am I curious about but haven’t yet tried?
What does my ideal day look like? What did I do? What did I like? How can I get more of that into my schedule?
What allows me to get into flow?
If I am no longer working, what do I miss about that? Or, if I am about to cease, what might I miss about that?
How can I give value to someone else?
Who do I want to build strong or stronger connections with?
Who and/or what inspires me? For example, it might be an idea, a person, a book, a video and so forth.
Are there any role models I wish to emulate?
In what parts of my life do I need courage?
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Reference
[i] Miller, L (2021). “The Awakened Brain”. Allen Lane an imprint of Penguin Books pg 60