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In our last post, we talked about morning pages and why they are so beneficial for us. In this post, I’m giving you some ideas to get you started. Here are some morning pages prompts if you don’t know what to write about.
This morning, I crawled out of bed at the crack of dawn. Our roosters in the yard had not even started crowing. I was awake before the start of the day before the first rays of sunshine crested over the trees outside my window. I followed my morning routine – turning on the coffee maker, unloading the dishwasher, and reading my Bible.
As I finished up my devotions, I looked outside my window, and my brain was swirling. There were so many things I was thinking about – camping, cleaning, cooking, homeschooling. Podcasts. Books. Articles.
When the world is pressing in on you, it’s easy to feel like you must respond or things will fall apart. I love the possibility that morning brings – with all of the hope and expectation of a day well lived. But, some of that possibility and hope is lost if we jump headlong into the constant string of tasks that everyone is asking us to do.
Self-care is all the rage these days. I recently did a devotional called The Whole Life: 52 Weeks of Biblical Self-Care. Many of the topics that the book proposed were common ways to invest in and take care of yourself (get outside, take a bath, go to the doctor). Often we think of self-care and we think that self-care means relaxation and entertainment. In doing this, we either ‘veg’ out on the couch because we think we’ve been given permission to do so or we think “Yeah right. I’m sure some people have time to relax – but not me!”
I think we have to reframe this idea of self-care. It may be nice and relaxing to go get a massage or a manicure, but this is not the only, or really even the best, form of self-care that we can do. At its heart, I think self-care is a way of tending to your mind and body that will make it stronger, more productive, and more resilient. Self-care does not equal relaxation. It is a type of personal training.
It’s widely accepted that exercise is a form of self-care, and anyone who has gotten in a good exercise routine – and gotten past the point of feeling like exercising is a form of torture – can recognize how there is a benefit to the difficulty. A pleasure in the pain. It is because this type of self-care disciplines your body to achieve greater things. You get more energy and are stronger and fitter through regular exercise.
I think it’s interesting that we would all think that this is self-evident, yet when we come to other areas of self-care in our lives, we think that the only way we care for ourselves is to take a nap.
Self-care is self-discipline and self-training.
Too often, we view self-care as consuming and pampering. It can also be something that produces something. In fact, I find this productive form of rest the most life-giving.
In this way, morning pages, a habit that can be difficult at times, is a form of self-care that helps to make you stronger, more productive, and more resilient.
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What are morning pages?
We talked about the practice of writing morning pages in the last post. If you want more information, be sure to hop over and read that post here. Morning Pages is a practice of morning journaling that you do every day developed by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way. The only rules for morning pages are that they should be done first thing in the morning and that you should write three pages (and by that I mean three whole pages!). In my last post, I wrote about how I go through my process of morning pages. During my morning pages routine, I generally start by writing about the day before and then go from there. However, it’s always beneficial to try something new. You never know what prompt will spark your creative juices and give you new insight into life. The goal with morning pages is to simply write out your “stream-of-consciousness” thoughts. This is not meant to be an artistic final draft. It is a place to brain dump what is happening in your mind on the page, so it’s not damming up your creativity.
Writing morning pages is a great new habit because it clears your mind and improves mental health. It also can help you track your goals and problem-solve ways to reach them. Doing morning pages is a simple idea that can lead to lots of personal growth.
Morning Pages v. Morning Journaling
The idea of Morning Pages is that you simply write out your thoughts without editing them. This helps you gain greater awareness of your thought patterns. Think of peering into a dark crowded dusty room. That’s your mind. Through morning pages, you are able to do some decluttering and deep cleaning of your mind. With each thought that you take out of your mind and write down on the page, you are sweeping and dusting out that dirty room. Eventually, you will have everything ordered. You will be able to live fully in the present without worrying about to-do lists, unresolved conflicts, or the book you just finished. I think this is a goal that we all hope to get to. We all want to be able to live more fully in the moment.
When you do morning pages, you are better able to get to that point. Generally, morning pages don’t require writing prompts. You just write about the next thing that pops into your mind. However, when you stare at the page with no motivation to write, it’s helpful to have an idea to get going.
What follows are some morning journal prompts to get you started. Don’t forget to tag us on social media on Instagram or Facebook with pictures of your morning journaling routine!
Now, curl up on the couch with your notebook and a cup of coffee. Pick one of the morning journaling prompts, and start writing!
Morning Pages Prompts for Self-Reflection
- What was a person who made you feel seen in childhood? What did they do that made you feel like they ‘got you?’
- Where was your favorite place in childhood? What did you love about this place?
- If money wasn’t an option and you could live anywhere, do anything, be anyone, what would your life look like?
- As a child, what was one of your greatest fears? How have you faced and overcome that fear as an adult?
- What is your greatest moment from the past year? What about that moment was so great? What were you doing? Why are you proud of it? How can you include more of that in your life going forward?
- What are some of the skills that you wish you could learn? What is appealing about those skills? Why would you want to learn them?
- List out some of the places that you have lived. What have you taken away from that place and made a part of your identity? What were your fondest memories of those places?
- What season of life are you in?
- Who do you want to be in life? List descriptions or names for these things.
- How do you want to feel? Write out how you can start feeling these things now.
- Write out everything you did yesterday as a short story. What would be the problem, the turning point, the resolution?
- Create an extended metaphor that describes (however imperfectly) what you are feeling right now.
- Write about your favorite spaces that you use to create. What makes them so special?
- What was the best book that you read this past year? Why did you love it? List as many as you want.
- Do you like to read? Why or why not? What is the purpose of reading? What makes real literature? What makes a great book? Are they the same thing or different?
- Right down a list of things you ‘get to do today.’ These are things you are grateful for and that you are looking forward to. You could keep this list going as a gratitude journal for the future.
Morning Pages Prompts for Better Awareness, Focus, and Productivity
- Write about the place that you are sitting right now. How descriptive can you be?
- Make a list of all the things that are swirling around in your mind. Write it out as bullet points. Leave no stone unturned!
- What is one area of your life that is controlling your focus? A problem that you keep coming back to. Describe it, some of the limiting beliefs surrounding the issue, and some potential solutions.
- Brainstorm 12 life questions or problems that dominate your focus every day. Describe why these questions are interesting to you and what you have learned so far about them.
- Brainstorm your perfect way to spend a day. Describe each part of your routine and how you could start to create this routine now.
- List out everything that you need to do right now. It can be big or small goals or tasks. Then pick one and determine one actionable step or habit you could start today to move forward on that goal.
- Do a time gap analysis. Add up the hours in your week that you spend at your job, cleaning, taking care of the kids, in the car, etc. Determine where you are spending your time. Are there places you could trim? Places you want to add in an activity or task? How could you structure your life better?
- What do you want your life to look like in 1 year? 5 years? 10 years? What small changes could you make in your daily life that could get you closer to that point?
- What are areas of your life that you feel are pillars of your life? Pillars are large areas where you focus your time, energy, and money to grow and make better. For instance, a pillar could be a job, a hobby, your family, education, homemaking, finances, etc.
What you would add to the list? Comment below with the questions you would add!
Morning Journaling can help you to get to know yourself. It can improve your mood and your creativity. Try it out in your morning routine and see for yourself the personal growth that can happen!
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