“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Love each other as I have loved you.”
Most other religions of the world teach their followers to love others. And, for an overwhelming majority, it is from religion and religious texts that they imbibe their moral values.
Unfortunately, self-love is not one among these teachings. As the social structure is changing, interpersonal relations are evolving, there is more awareness about the need for loving oneself today. In today’s world, everything starts with self-love. It decides who you are, what you can be, how you relate with others, and what you can offer the world.
Self-love helps us to take good care of ourselves so that we are in a position to help others. Self-love can help us become aware of our potential, forgive ourselves when we make mistakes, and feel grateful for all the blessings we receive.
Here are some more reasons to love yourself.
When you love yourself, you know that
- You have at least one person rooting for you.
- You don’t need to seek approval from others.
- You can heal mental wounds.
- You can say “no” without fear of abandonment.
- You can have open, honest conversations with others.
- You can have better relationships.
- You can take bad days in your stride.
- You can make choices without fear of retribution.
- You can forgive others and not hold on to grudges.
- You have a say in how you lead your life.
Self-love gives you confidence, self-respect, and self-worth and brings more positivity into your life. When you are happier and taking better care of yourselves, you would be in a better position to explore the opportunities and possibilities that open up for you. This is your best chance to live the life of your dreams.
As you realize the importance of self-love, you need to look for ways to include it in your attitude. Especially since religious teachings fall short on this count. Shadow work journaling is an excellent tool to promote self-love.
When you are attempting shadow work on your own, it is recommended that you use guided self-love prompts. Shadow work involves getting in touch with your subconscious and becoming aware of the traits and parts of you that you are uncomfortable with and have disowned. Only by getting to the bottom of the issue and figuring out the reason/s for your uneasiness and discontent, can you begin your recovery.
Shadow work journal prompts can help you get into a positive frame of mind easier and faster. In this article, you will find the most penetrating self-love journaling prompts to reach the dark depths of your mind and clear all the negativity.
Shadow Work Prompts for Self-Love and Self-care
- Were you harsh on yourself today? Do you think that is justified? Explain why.
- What, in your opinion, are the things that a person practicing self-love can do for themselves?
- Do you feel comfortable being yourself? Explain your answer. In case you are not fully comfortable being in your own skin, what is it in yourself that makes you uncomfortable? What can you do about it?
- Is there something about yourself that you are not happy about? Explain your answer. Do you want to do something about it? What are the changes you wish for in yourself?
- Are you able to embrace yourself without leaving anything out? Do you have misgivings about some aspects of yourself? What are they and what do you want to do about them?
- Do you beat yourself up when you fail at something? Do you think this is positive or helpful? If not, why do you continue to do it?
- Do you often treat yourself harshly? Describe your most harmful act towards yourself. Do you think your action is justified? If not, why did you indulge in it? Did you make it up to yourself with ample doses of self-love?
- Are you jealous of anyone in particular? What is the reason for your jealous feeling? Do you think your jealousy is justified? Is it alright to feel jealous? If not, have you done anything about it?
- Do you have ambitions and goals? Do you have any plans to achieve them? What are you doing to make them come true?
- What are your thoughts on sexuality? How would you rate yourself on sexuality? Do you feel embarrassed by your sexuality? Explain your answer.
- Do you find it easy to ask for help when you need it? Explain your answer. What do you think you can do to improve?
- Do you feel that asking for help will make you feel incompetent, weak, and vulnerable? Can you figure out how you arrived at this thought process? Do you think this is right? Are you doing anything to set this misconception right?
- Make a list of your 10 best attributes? What can you do to improve?
- List 5 of your biggest achievements. What do you consider to be the best?
- How was your day? Do you feel blessed to be yourself? Can you recollect 5 incidents from today, big or small, for which you feel grateful? How does the feeling of gratitude make you feel?
- Is there something you can do today that can immensely impact your future? Are you planning to make this happen? If not, why?
- Did you face any challenges today? How did you handle them? What did you learn from them?
- Scan your body from head to toe. In which parts of your body can you feel the build-up of tension? How do you experience it? What are you doing about it?
- Have you come across obstacles preventing you from achieving your goals? With the help of an example, describe how you overcame or planning to overcome this obstacle.
- Do you really believe that you can be anyone you want to be and achieve whatever you set your mind to? Is the sky really the limit for you? Explain why.
- What is the most challenging task you are facing today? Do you have any plans to succeed at it? What can you learn from the experience?
- Do you consider yourself privileged? Explain your answer. If yes, do you feel grateful? If not, do you have any plans to lessen the impact of this disadvantage?
- Do you make promises to yourself? How important to you are these promises? Do you give your best to keep them? Either way, how do you feel about these promises?
- Have you ever blamed another person when something went wrong but later realized you are partly to blame? Did you apologize to this person and make amends? Why or why not?
- Have you ever felt mortified, as if you are shrinking with embarrassment? Describe the last time you felt this way. What were you ashamed about?
- If you had the power to change one aspect of your life, what would you choose to change? Explain the reason for your answer.
- Do you tell yourself negative things about yourself? Such as “you can’t do it” or “you are not beautiful”. From where did you get these ideas about yourself? Do you think this is good for your personality development? What are you doing to stop it?
- Do you consider yourself unwanted, undervalued, unpopular, and disliked? Do you think that you don’t deserve to have a good life? Why do you think so? How can you change this mindset of yours? Are you taking any steps to promote self-love and self-esteem?
- Have you ever caught yourself promoting a negative attitude and influencing your subconscious mind? How has this impacted you? Are you doing anything to stop it?
- Do you have negative thoughts? How are they hurting you? What can you do to replace them with positive thoughts?
Bottom line
Shadow work is not a walk in the park. It is hard and even distressing for some. However, if you ignore the problem and move on in life, you are making matters worse for yourself. Shadow work may cause some disturbance in your life for the short term, but the end result is rewarding enough.
When you have the journaling prompts for self-love to guide you through the difficult times and even hold your hand when you need it held, shadow work need not be as demanding as it usually is.
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