20+ Journal Prompts to Have The Best Year Ever (2023)

4 min readMay 2, 2023

best year ever: line drawing of two wine glasses clinking

Five years ago, I was sitting in my work uniform, skinny as a runner bean and severely depressed. It was January, and I thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore. I can’t live like this, something’s got to change.’ So, I searched on Pinterest and found journalling questions for The Best Year Ever.

Let me tell you. It changed my life. It was one of those pinnacle moments when you see your life for what it is. It was tough, but it needed to happen.

After seeing the results from the journalling exercise, I completed it year after year. And I could see how much better my life was becoming every. single. time. There was no stagnancy, and the following year proved even better than the last.

Best year ever: Sign post sillouette against sunset clouds and sky — Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash

The Best Year Ever doesn’t happen by accident. You have to go out and create it. Will you hit bumps along the way? Yes. Will you always end up exactly where you planned? No.

You have to leave room for flexibility and change, but by using these journalling prompts, you can point yourself in the right direction. I’ve updated and personalised the OG journalling prompts, and I want to share them with you.

You can do these prompts at any time. It’s never too late! You can write paragraphs, a few sentences or just a word. There are no rules!

The journal prompts are split into five categories so you can see what’s going well and what could use a little TLC. The sections are:

Lifestyle
Health & Wellness
Relationships
Financial Abundance
Career

Let’s get into it.

Best Year Ever! A Reflection of 2022

Best year ever: Woman with closed eyes wearing glasses looking relaxed — Photo by Radu Florin on Unsplash

You’re going to start your journalling with a reflection on the past year. If you can’t see where you’ve been, how will you know the best way forward? I advise keeping what you’ve written each year in a memory box so you can read through them and see how much life has improved.

Lifestyle

Best year ever: Woman in chic room with plants and desk — Photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash

What are the small things you enjoy in your current lifestyle?
What do you desire or want to invite into your lifestyle?
Imagine your dream lifestyle. What does it look like, and how does it feel?
What do you need to work toward to achieve that lifestyle?
What is something you can do toward your ideal lifestyle right now?

Overall lifestyle goal for this year:

Health & Wellness

Best year ever: Woman in grey top doing yoga or stretching in bed — Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

How is your general health and wellness?
What do you do daily to care for your health and wellness?
What is your mindset toward health and wellness?
How can you have a good relationship with health and wellness?
What health and wellness habits do you want to implement in the coming year?

Overall health and wellness goal for this year:

Relationships

Best year ever: Black and white hands linking little fingers — Photo by Radu Florin on Unsplash

How are your relationships with family, friends and significant others?
What could you do to improve those relationships?
Are there any toxic people in your life? How can you distance yourself from them?
What is your relationship with yourself like?
How can you learn to love and accept yourself more?

Overall relationship goal for this year:

Financial Abundance

Best year ever: Plant growing in a jar of pennies — Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash

What is your financial situation like right now?
What are the most significant barriers to increasing your financial wellness?
What is your relationship with money like?
How can you change your money mindset for the better?
Imagine you have the finances to live your ideal lifestyle. How did you get there?

Overall financial abundance goal for this year:

Career

Best year ever: Woman sitting in pink clothes working on laptop with a cappuccino — Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Do you feel you are on the right track for your career?
If not, why not?
What do you want from a career and why?
What limiting beliefs do you have about your career?
How can you work on changing and healing those beliefs?

Overall career goal for this year:

Journal Prompts to Set Yourself Up for Next Year

Best year ever: Woman writing in journal with teapot and empty mug — Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Unsplash

What are your overall feelings from the past year?
How do you want to feel next year?
Which area of your life do you need to focus on the most to achieve those feelings?
What’s one thing you want to tell your future self?