20 Journal Prompts to improve your body image
Positive body image is tough. Sometimes It can feel like Sisyphus trying to push that boulder up a hill only to have to start all over again the next day. But, just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean it’s not possible to improve our body image.
To me, having a positive body image is working towards trying to stop thinking about how you think your body looks to others and shift that to thinking about how your body feels to you. Is our view of our body a reflection of societal ideals? Or are we truly living in our bodies and paying attention to how that feels for us.
The thing is, a negative self-perception is the catalyst to all of the things that I support people to get away from. Yo-yo dieting, binging, self-sabotage, food addiction, etc. But I’ll be first to say that improving our body image isn’t easy.
One thing that has helped me is setting up a morning journaling routine. Now, keep in mind I don’t have children, so it’s easy for me to do this first thing in the morning – for you, it may be an evening routine once everyone is in bed.
For me, the first thing I do each morning (after coffee) is grab myself my favourite breakfast (currently High Protein Breakfast Cereal), a quiet spot and a journal and just write. Below are a list of prompts to get you started.
- What is something my body does for me that makes it unique?
- List 10 things you appreciate about your body.
- If you could write a letter to your younger self, what would it say?
- What parts of my body were handed down to me from my ancestors?
- What is your favourite form of movement? How does that movement make you feel in your body?
- How does your body support you? What does it allow you to do?
- How do your body image concerns hinder you from living your best life?
- Are your body image thoughts consistent or do they ebb and flow? What causes them to change?
- What judgements do you place on yourself and your body? Would you place these same judgements on a best friend? If not, why do they feel true to you?
- Do you tie your self-worth to your physical appearance? Why? Consider all the other things that make you worthy, unique, and loved.
- If you suddenly found yourself in a world where your appearance didn’t matter – would you still want to change your body? Why or why not?
- If someone were to write a eulogy about you, what would it say? Morbid, I know but I’m sure they wouldn’t focus on your appearance!
- Do you feel like you honour your body’s needs? (ie. Do you feed it when it’s hungry? Move when it wants to move? Rest when it needs rest?)
- How can you honour your body today?
- How do you want to feel in your body? What steps can you take today to begin to take action on this?
- What would your ideal relationship with your body look like to you?
- How can you release any negative thoughts when you feel them? What are your coping mechanisms?
- What does a positive body image mean to you? Be specific.
- What do you want the children in your life to know about their bodies?
Did any of these resonate for you? What thoughts came up for you? Reach out, I’d love to hear from you.
I’ve also compiled this list and other journal prompts into a downloadable pdf. Click on the image below to grab yours.
