These are prompts from some other place besides a book that ask to examine certain aspects of yourself. I will not have created these prompts myself, so I want to pay respect that they came from somewhere.
This months’ prompts are going to be coming from this substack that I recently started following:
https://substack.com/@theebookclubx/p-180404522
December journal prompts
1. What did this year teach me about myself that I didn’t know before?
2. Which version of me am I leaving behind in 2025?
3. What am I proud of myself for, even if no one else noticed?
4. Which disappointments from this year still live in my body, and what permission do I need to release them?
5. What boundaries did I learn to set or wish I had set sooner?
6. Write about one person who made your year a little softer.
7. What small, mundane moments brought me unexpected joy?
8. What blessings arrived quietly, without fanfare?
9. What did I survive that I didn’t think I would?
10. What parts of my life feel like answered prayers?
11. What did love (romantic or otherwise) teach me this year?
12. How did I show up for the people I care about, and how did they show up for me?
13. What is one relationship I want to nurture more intentionally in the new year?
14. Which connections drained me, and why did I hold onto them?
15. What does a healthy, gentle love look like for the version of me I am becoming?
16. What habits helped me grow and which ones quietly held me back?
17. What fear dominated my decision-making this year, and how can I release it?
18. What is one truth about myself I can no longer ignore?
19. What did I learn about trusting my intuition?
20. How did I show resilience even when I doubted myself?
21. What do I want December-me one year from now to thank me for?
22. What kind of energy do I want to carry into the new year?
23. What is something I want to try, even if I’m afraid or unprepared?
24. What word or theme do I want to guide me in 2026?
25. What would a gentle, ease-filled life look like and what is one step I can take toward it?
26. What is one thing I forgave myself for this year, even quietly?
27. What old dream am I ready to revisit with a wiser, gentler heart?
28. What did this year reveal about what I truly value , beyond status, speed, or success?
29. Where did I experience unexpected beauty this year, and what did it teach me about paying attention?
30. What is one soft promise I want to make to myself as the new year begins?
What is one soft promise I want to make to myself as the new year begins?
The most important soft promise is to show up for myself next year. This means going to dinner with myself if I want. It is hanging out with me in ways that are meaningful. If I want to go to a show, I can go to it even if no one else wants to go with me. The soft promise is to allow myself to do things for me. These are small things, not the larger things. It is eating the foods I want. It is seeing a concert because I want to go to it, not because I need someone else to go with me. I want to soft promise myself that I can do things regardless of who will do them with me.
I have taken life far too seriously in the last year, so I make a soft promise to try to relax more in this next year. Do things that I love, even if it is just actually reading a darn book or going to see a play. I don’t have a lot of soft promises for myself right now honestly because I am currently in a hard promise mode with my life. I want to be happier and hard promises are where I am at. Soft promises may be the initial steps to get there though. Doing small steps, small things for me to get to there. Small sacrifices to get to happier. This next year is truly about changing my life, so it is going to be a rough year next year but one full of promise for myself.
