Want to manifest your best self? Answering these 105 shadow work questions could help

Shadow work journalling is an invitation to turn inward—to trace the contours of your past, unearth long-held beliefs and sit with the emotions you’ve spent years tucking away. It’s not about indulging in nostalgia or setting rigid self-improvement goals, rather, it’s a practice of honest self-exploration. What experiences have shaped your identity? Which memories still linger in the background, subtly influencing your choices? What narratives about yourself are you ready to rewrite? By engaging with your shadow self—the parts of yourself that you deem unlovable—you create space for a deeper connection with who you are beneath the conditioning of the world around you.

Below, we have compiled 105 thoughtful shadow work prompts, separated into seven sections, designed to help you untangle limiting beliefs, navigate emotions and understand yourself on a more profound level. You can complete them slowly over a week, tackling fifteen questions a day over seven days. Whether you’re just beginning this journey or looking to deepen your practice, these questions will encourage you to confront, reflect on and ultimately reclaim every part of yourself.

Day 1: Understanding your shadow self

1. Which moments from my past bring me the most happiness?
2. How do I typically respond to conflict, and is my approach constructive or harmful?
3. What past mistake or experience do I need to release and stop holding against myself?
4. What does personal freedom mean to me, and what circumstances make me feel restricted
5. What types of situations provoke the strongest emotional reactions in me, and why?
6. How do others perceive me, and is their perception aligned with who I really am?
7. Whose opinions have the greatest impact on my choices?
8. What is a significant difficulty I experienced in childhood, and how does it continue to shape me?
9. What qualities or behaviours in others do I criticise the most, and what does that reveal about me?
10. What core beliefs do I hold about myself, and where did they originate?
11. If I could alter one thing about myself, what would it be and why?
12. Which connections in my life have contributed the most to my personal growth?
13. In what moments do I feel the most seen and appreciated?
14. Which memories fill me with regret or embarrassment?
15. What fears hold me back the most, and how do they shape my decisions?

Day 2: Exploring childhood and family conditioning

1. What is my earliest memory of feeling less-than?
2. How did my parents or caregivers show love? How did that shape my idea of love?
3. What messages did I receive about success growing up?
4. What childhood experiences still influence my self-esteem today?
5. What emotions were considered acceptable in my household? Which were discouraged?
6. How did my family handle difficult conversations?
7. What was my role in my family? (e.g., the responsible one, the troublemaker, the peacemaker)
8. Did I feel emotionally safe as a child? Why or why not?
9. Were my needs met as a child? If not, how does that affect me now?
10. What limiting beliefs did I inherit from my family?
11. What behaviours do I have that remind me of my parents or caregivers?
12. How did my family express or suppress emotions?
13. In what ways do I seek approval, and from whom?
14. What childhood wound still needs healing?
15. If I could tell my younger self one thing, what would it be?

Day 3: Unpacking limiting beliefs

1. What is one belief I have about myself that is holding me back?
2. What is my biggest fear about failure?
3. What internalised messages make me feel small, and where did they originate?
4. How do I define success? Who influenced this definition?
5. Do I believe I am deserving of happiness? Why or why not?
6. How do I react to compliments? What does this reveal about me?
7. What do I judge most harshly in others? Is it something I fear in myself?
8. When have I self-sabotaged? What was I afraid of?
9. What do I believe about money and financial success? Where did this belief come from?
10. Do I think I am only as good as my achievements? Why?
11. What is one thing I always tell myself I can’t do?
12. Where do I play small in my life? Why?
13. How do I talk to myself when I make a mistake?
14. What would happen if I let go of my biggest limiting belief?
15. What do I gain by holding on to negative self-beliefs?

Day 4: Navigating relationships and emotional attachments

1. What kind of people do I attract into my life? What patterns do I see?
2. Have I ever stayed in a relationship that wasn’t good for me? Why?
3. When have I sacrificed my needs to please someone else?
4. Do I struggle with setting boundaries? Why?
5. Whom do I feel I need to prove myself to?
6. How do I respond when someone hurts me?
7. What relationships feel draining to me? Why do I keep them?
8. How do I show up in my friendships? What kind of friend am I?
9. Do I seek validation from others? In what ways?
10. What is my biggest fear when it comes to relationships?
11. Do I expect others to fill a void within me? How would I define my void?
12. Have I ever felt unworthy of love? Where did that belief start?
13. How do I react to social rejection?
14. What part of myself do I hide in relationships?
15. How do I know when a relationship is truly supportive and healthy?

Day 5: Confronting shadow emotions (guilt, shame, anger, jealousy, fear)

1. What emotion do I try to avoid feeling the most? Why?
2. What is my relationship with guilt? Do I carry unnecessary guilt?
3. What situations bring out my anger the most?
4. How do I deal with my anger? Is it constructive or destructive?
5. When have I felt jealous of someone? What did I actually want at that moment?
6. Have I ever suppressed my true feelings to keep the peace? Why?
7. What fear controls me the most?
8. What is one regret I have that I can’t seem to let go of?
9. What negative emotions feel the most familiar to me? Do I subconsciously cling to them?
10. When do I feel powerless? What belief fuels that feeling?
11. How do I react when someone sets a boundary with me?
12. How do I respond when I feel ignored or unimportant?
13. Have I ever taken out my emotions on someone else? What was happening within me at the time?
14. What makes me feel unsafe? When do I feel most at peace?
15. If my emotions could speak, what would they be trying to tell me?

Day 6: Rewriting your narrative

1. What is a story I’ve been telling myself about who I am? Is it true?
2. If I had never been told who I should be, who would I choose to become?
3. What patterns keep repeating in my life? What lesson might they be teaching me?
4. What is one area where I can shift from a victim mindset to an empowered perspective?
5. What words or labels have I internalised about myself? Do they still serve me?
6. What is something I’ve been afraid to admit to myself?
7. What do I truly want from life, without fear or outside opinions?
8. How would my life change if I stopped caring about what others think?
9. How can I be more compassionate to myself?
10. What parts of myself am I eager to embrace?
11. How do I celebrate my achievements? Do I allow myself to?
12. What small dream have I been putting off? Why?
13. If I fully believed in myself, what’s the first thing I would do?
14. How do I define happiness?
15. What are three affirmations I can say to support my growth?

Day 7: Future self and stepping into power

1. What does my most empowered, authentic self look and feel like?
2. If I fully trusted myself, what bold decision would I make today?
3. What qualities do I admire in others that I can cultivate in myself?
4. How does fear hold me back from stepping into my full potential?
5. What small habits can I start today to align with the future I desire?
6. What does success look like for me beyond external validation?
7. If I could speak to my future self, what advice would they give me?
8. What version of myself am I ready to leave behind?
9. How can I reclaim my personal power in situations where I feel small?
10. What mindset shift will help me step into the life I truly want?
11. What fears would I need to release to fully embody my highest potential?
12. How can I become the person I needed when I was younger?
13. Where in my life am I waiting for permission instead of taking action?
14. If I were already living as my future self, what daily habits would I have?
15. What limiting beliefs do I need to rewrite in order to step into my power?