The Give Yourself Kindness journal is an expert-recommended tool specifically designed to build self-worth through evidence-based self-compassion techniques. Unlike traditional gratitude journals that can reinforce toxic positivity, this journal uses self-compassion principles to help you validate difficult emotions, quiet your inner critic, and develop genuine self-acceptance.
If you've been told to "just be more positive" or "focus on your strengths"—only to feel like you're failing at that too—you're not alone. When you struggle with self-worth, forced positivity can actually make things worse.
The Give Yourself Kindness journal takes a different approach. Instead of demanding you feel better about yourself, it helps you understand why self-compassion is more powerful than self-criticism for building lasting self-worth. Research from Dr. Kristin Neff's decades of work shows that self-compassion—not self-esteem or positive thinking—creates genuine, stable self-worth that doesn't depend on being perfect or comparing yourself to others.
Dr. Chris Germer
Clinical Psychologist, Harvard Medical School
Co-developer of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program taught to 250,000+ people worldwide
"A warm invitation to make friends with your emotions and yourself!"
Why This Journal Actually Works for Low Self-Worth
If you struggle with feeling "not good enough," these five evidence-based approaches make the difference:
What Makes This Different from Other Self-Worth Journals
| Other Self-Help Journals | The Give Yourself Kindness Journal |
|---|---|
| Focus on listing "achievements" and "wins" | Recognizes all experiences—including struggle—as part of being human |
| Can make you feel worse when you can't think of positives | Validates difficult emotions and helps you work with them compassionately |
| Repetitive prompts that become meaningless over time | 90 days of varied daily prompts—no two days the same |
| Dated pages that create guilt when you fall behind | Undated—welcomes you back without judgment whenever you're ready |
| Generic advice with no expert backing | Recommended by Dr. Chris Germer (Harvard) and clinical psychologists worldwide |
| Assumes the problem is your "negative thinking" | Recognizes that your inner critic developed for a reason—helps you work with it compassionately |
Recommended by Leading Experts in Self-Compassion & Self-Worth
Dr. Chris Irons
Clinical Psychologist, CFT Researcher and Trainer
"This is such a fantastic resource! Supportive, encouraging and containing, whilst also helping people to explore and learn how to manage their emotions with compassion. Highly recommended."
Professor Willem Kuyken, PhD, DClinPsy
Ritblat Professor of Mindfulness and Psychological Science at the University of Oxford. Listed in the top 1% of most cited scientists worldwide.
"Rachel has curated the experience to make the writing intrinsically rewarding and the journal something to treasure. Writing can be creative, beautiful, resourcing, but it can also invoke an inner critic, rumination and procrastination. Rachel has curated the experience to make the writing intrinsically rewarding."
Nina Holle
Psychotherapist
"This is a wonderful, easy-to-use and transformative journal which will help you befriend your emotions and find more ease and contentment as a result. The journal is rooted in state-of-the-art research that emphasizes the importance of understanding our emotions in order to lower stress and lead a happy and meaningful life."
How This Journal Helps Build Genuine Self-Worth
1. Understanding Your Emotions Instead of Fighting Them
Every page includes a visual emotion guide that helps you notice and name what you're feeling without judgment. This practice—rooted in Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)—helps you understand that emotions are information, not evidence that you're broken or inadequate. When you can observe your feelings with curiosity rather than criticism, you start building the foundation for genuine self-worth.
2. Learning Self-Compassion Instead of Self-Criticism
Prompts regularly ask: "Imagine a friend came to you feeling this way—what would you say to them?" This simple but powerful technique, backed by years of research from Dr. Kristin Neff, helps you recognize that you deserve the same kindness you naturally extend to others. It's a direct counter to the harsh inner critic that reinforces low self-worth.
Julie Burke, LPC-S
Therapist & Private Practice Owner
"There are affirmations throughout the journal that feel safe and encouraging to feel your feelings/experience emotions in ways that create a sense of safety and are free of judgment for yourself."
3. Recognizing What You Actually Do (Not What You "Should" Do)
Instead of demanding you list accomplishments or wins, prompts gently guide you to notice things you've been able to do—whether that's navigating a difficult conversation, taking care of yourself in a small way, or simply getting through a hard day. This helps you see your own strength and capability without the pressure to be extraordinary.
Carrie Pollard, MSW RSW
Experienced Psychotherapist
"It helps you name and process your emotions, identify what you need to cope and/or problem-solve, balance the acknowledgment of hurt and suffering with gratitude and comfort. For me, journaling has been an important practice for insight, reflection and release, and this is by far my favourite guided journal that I've used!"
4. Questioning Your Inner Critic With Curiosity
When you notice self-critical thoughts (like "I'm not good enough" or "I always mess things up"), the journal helps you explore them with curiosity rather than believing them automatically: "Is this thought helping me? What would I say to a friend thinking this?" This reframing technique, central to CFT and CBT, helps you recognize that your inner critic's harsh voice isn't necessarily telling you the truth about your worth.
5. Practicing Gratitude Without Bypassing Your Real Experience
Rather than forcing you to be grateful when life is genuinely hard, prompts explore gratitude in varied, honest ways: "Something that happened today I feel grateful for (try to explore how it made you feel)" or "An act of kindness someone has shown me recently." This approach acknowledges that you can hold both struggle and appreciation—both are part of being human, and neither defines your worth.
What Therapists Say About Using This Journal
Michelle Shlafman Ph.D., LPC, ACS
Holistic Psychotherapist
"Out of all the guided journals I've used, this one stands out as my favorite. Understanding your emotions and compassionately exploring their origins is so important for self-connection and personal growth. This journal encourages you to offer yourself the same compassion you would extend to a loved one."
Rachael Oliver MBACP
Accredited Counsellor
"I love using these beautiful journals with clients throughout their counselling journeys. The prompts and areas to think about are helpful to shine light on their feelings, experiences and thought processes. The way the journal is constructed helps validate their entire experience and avoid toxic positivity."
Kerry Munro, BSc HCPC
Mindfulness Teacher & Occupational Therapist
"I've used the self kindness affirmation cards with the patients I work with on a mental health ward at work. The feedback was great! So many people struggle and forget to offer themselves kindness and self-compassion, especially during hard times, when we need it most!"
Why Self-Compassion Works Better Than Self-Criticism for Self-Worth
If you've spent years being hard on yourself hoping it would motivate you to improve, you're not alone—and it's not working. Research by Dr. Kristin Neff demonstrates that self-compassion is significantly more effective than self-criticism for building lasting self-worth.
Unlike self-esteem (which is often based on comparing yourself to others or achieving certain standards), self-compassion provides a stable foundation for self-worth that doesn't depend on being "better than" anyone or reaching some elusive definition of "good enough."
Studies from Dr. Neff's extensive research program consistently show that self-compassion practices:
- Reduce harsh self-criticism and negative self-talk
- Increase emotional resilience when facing setbacks
- Improve overall wellbeing and life satisfaction
- Decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression
- Build authentic confidence that doesn't depend on external validation
- Support genuine motivation (without the burnout of self-criticism)
As clinical psychologist Dr. Annabelle Kyle Dortch explains, "When we engage in self-criticism, we create a nervous system and brain state that is not conducive to learning or facilitating a growth-oriented mindset." In other words, being hard on yourself actually makes it harder to change—it doesn't help.
The Give Yourself Kindness journal translates these research-backed self-compassion principles into daily practice you can actually do, without needing a psychology degree or years of therapy (though it works beautifully alongside therapy too).
Is This Journal Right for You?
The Give Yourself Kindness journal is designed for you if:
- You constantly feel like you're "not good enough" no matter what you achieve
- Your inner critic is harsh, relentless, and exhausting
- You compare yourself to others and always come up short
- You struggle to accept compliments or recognize your own strengths
- Traditional gratitude journals make you feel guilty or worse
- You want to build genuine self-worth (not just temporary confidence)
- You need support validating your emotions without toxic positivity
- You've tried journaling before but found it repetitive or unhelpful
- You're new to journaling and want gentle, expert guidance
- You're working with a therapist on self-esteem or self-worth issues
You don't need any prior experience with journaling or self-compassion. The journal guides you through every step with clear prompts and gentle reminders. The undated format means you can start anytime and return without guilt if you miss days—because the goal is healing, not perfection.
What's Inside The Give Yourself Kindness Journal
Sample Prompts Designed for Low Self-Worth:
- "What emotions can you notice have arisen for you today? With curiosity and kindness, try to explore reasons behind the emotions you've noticed."
- "Can you think of a time when you've struggled to feel proud of something you've achieved, but if it had happened to a friend you would have felt proud? Write down words of reassurance to show yourself that you deserve to feel proud."
- "Notice how you are feeling right now. Think about what you would find it helpful to hear—it might help to imagine something a friend would say. Write down words to say to yourself."
- "What has challenged you today? Talk to yourself as you would talk to a friend—write down what you would say."
- "Imagine you have thirty minutes to do something for you, to show yourself some of your own love and care. What would you do?"
Gentle Reminders You'll Find Throughout:
- "You are enough, exactly as you are"
- "The way you speak to yourself matters"
- "Being human means being imperfect"
- "No emotion defines who you are"
- "Every day you do so many things to be proud of"
- "You can't be perfect, and you don't need to be"
Your Questions About Using This Journal for Self-Worth
"I've tried journaling before and just felt worse about myself. Will this be different?"
This is such a common experience with low self-worth, and it's not your fault. Many journals accidentally reinforce feelings of inadequacy because they use repetitive prompts, push toxic positivity, or create guilt when you can't keep up.
The Give Yourself Kindness journal is fundamentally different because it validates your struggle instead of asking you to bypass it. Every prompt is varied (no repetition that makes you feel like you're failing at journaling too), and because it's undated, there's no guilt when life gets overwhelming.
As psychotherapist Carrie Pollard, MSW RSW, explains: it's "by far my favourite guided journal I've used" specifically because it doesn't have those problems that make traditional journals feel like one more thing you're not doing well enough.
"How is this different from just listing things I'm grateful for?"
Gratitude is valuable—and it's part of this journal—but forcing yourself to "list three things you're grateful for" when you genuinely feel terrible about yourself can actually reinforce that you're failing. It can feel like you're supposed to feel grateful, and since you don't, you must be even more broken.
This journal explores gratitude in varied, authentic ways that don't bypass your real emotions. You're encouraged to notice appreciation alongside struggle—not instead of it. You learn to hold both at the same time, which is what being human actually looks like. You're not being asked to deny that things are hard; you're being helped to find moments of light within the difficulty.
As therapist Rachael Oliver notes, the journal "helps validate their entire experience and avoid toxic positivity"—something essential when you already struggle with feeling inadequate.
"I'm really struggling with my self-worth. Is a journal enough to help me?"
Journaling is a powerful tool, and many therapists use this journal with their clients as part of therapeutic work on self-worth. That said, if you're experiencing depression, severe anxiety, persistent thoughts of worthlessness, or other significant mental health concerns, please also work with a qualified therapist or counselor.
Think of this journal as a supportive companion—something that can help you practice daily self-compassion while you're also getting professional support. Many people find it works beautifully alongside therapy, giving them a concrete tool to use between sessions and helping them integrate what they're learning.
"How long until I feel better about myself?"
Everyone's journey is different, but many people notice subtle shifts within the first few weeks—things like catching themselves being slightly kinder when they make a mistake, or feeling a bit less overwhelmed by difficult emotions. These small changes can feel significant when you've spent years being harsh with yourself.
Research on self-compassion practices shows that consistent use over 2-3 months tends to create more lasting transformation in how you relate to yourself. That's why this journal has 90 days of prompts—enough time to develop genuine self-compassion habits that actually stick and change your inner dialogue.
The goal isn't to suddenly love yourself perfectly (that's not realistic or necessary). The goal is to gradually develop a kinder, more balanced relationship with yourself—one where you're not your own worst enemy.
"I've never journaled before. Can I start with this?"
Absolutely. This journal was designed with beginners in mind. You don't need any experience with journaling or self-compassion practices—the prompts guide you every step of the way. There are no "wrong" answers, and the journal itself includes regular reminders of that.
Many people who've never journaled before say this is what finally made it feel accessible and genuinely helpful rather than overwhelming or like another thing they're failing at.
"What if I'm not good at writing or expressing myself?"
The prompts are designed to be accessible regardless of your writing ability. You can write as much or as little as feels right for you—even a few sentences is meaningful. The journal isn't grading you or expecting eloquence; it's simply creating space for you to connect with yourself more compassionately.
Many people find that their writing becomes more fluid naturally over time as they feel safer expressing themselves without judgment.
Start Building Real Self-Worth Today
The Give Yourself Kindness journal gives you three months of expert-designed support to transform how you see yourself.
✓ Recommended by Dr. Chris Germer (Harvard Medical School) and leading clinical psychologists worldwide
✓ Trusted by therapists who use it with their clients for self-worth issues
✓ Loved by thousands with 150+ 5-star reviews
✓ Based on decades of peer-reviewed research on self-compassion
You deserve to speak to yourself with kindness. You deserve to feel that you're enough, exactly as you are. This journal will help you get there—not through forced positivity, but through genuine self-compassion.
Related reading that can help with self-worth:
About the creator: Rachel Smith (DipBSoM) is a qualified meditation teacher who created Give Yourself Kindness after her own recovery through Compassion-Focused Therapy. She designs evidence-based tools recommended by clinical psychologists including Dr. Chris Germer (Harvard Medical School) and Dr. Chris Irons (leading CFT researcher), and used by therapists with their clients worldwide for building self-worth and self-compassion.
“By far my favourite guided journal that I’ve used!”
There's a lot of journals out there. Most of which include tools that can be repetitive, boring or unhelpful. Give Yourself Kindness is about creating something new.
