Journaling Prompts for Beginners: How Nonviolent Communication Helped Me Name My Needs

ByKristy Wessel
journaling prompts for beginners - a warm coffee sits beside a notebook and smartphone on a foggy day.

I used to think I was bad at feelings.

When someone asked how I was doing, I would say “fine” or “stressed,” even when what I felt inside was so much more tangled. When conflict came up, I either went silent or lashed out. Both left me feeling disconnected and misunderstood.

For a long time, I thought this was just how life worked. Some people had words for what they felt, and some of us just didn’t.

Then, during a season when I was struggling to hold things together, I came across a framework that finally gave me a language for what was happening inside. It showed me that feelings aren’t random or shameful. They are messengers pointing to what we truly need.

That framework is called Nonviolent Communication, or NVC (What Is Nonviolent Communication? A Complete Guide for Beginners). It changed the way I relate to myself and others. And when I brought it into my journaling practice, it became one of the most healing tools I’ve ever used.

How Journaling Prompts for Beginners Can Help

For years, I wanted to journal more often, but I struggled to make it a priority. I wasn’t sure I knew the right way to journal (hint: there’s no “right” way) and I would stare at the blank page, unsure where to start. Meanwhile, feelings piled up inside of me that were begging to come out.

That’s where journaling prompts for beginners can help. Prompts give you a gentle starting point, especially if you’re new to journaling or if writing about feelings feels intimidating. They take away the pressure of “getting it right” and instead invite curiosity.

When I paired journaling prompts with Nonviolent Communication, I discovered a way to move past vague words like “fine” or “mad” and uncover the real feelings and needs underneath.

What is Nonviolent Communication?

Nonviolent Communication is a framework developed by Marshall Rosenberg that helps us communicate with more empathy, clarity, and connection. It centers on four simple steps:

  1. Observation – Describe what is happening without judgment or interpretation.
  2. Feelings – Identify how you are feeling in response to what is happening.
  3. Needs – Recognize the deeper needs behind your feelings.
  4. Requests – Communicate a clear, actionable request that could help meet those needs.

On the surface, it sounds simple. But for many of us, identifying what we feel and what we need is not easy at all. I grew up with the language of “fine” and “stressed.” Naming something as specific as “disappointed” or “hopeful” felt awkward at first, almost foreign.

That’s where journaling became my safe place to practice.

Journaling Prompts for Beginners Using NVC

When I first printed out a list of feelings and needs from the Center for Nonviolent Communication, I honestly didn’t know what to do with them. But the next time I sat down with my journal, I tried something different.

I used these simple journaling prompts for beginners:

  1. What situation is on my mind right now?
  2. What am I feeling in response?
  3. What need of mine is connected to that feeling?
  4. What request could I make of myself or someone else?

Here’s an example from my own journal:

Situation:

My friend canceled our plans at the last minute.

Feeling:

I feel disappointed and lonely.

Need

I have a need for companionship and reliability.

Request

I will text another friend to go for a walk this week so I can meet my need for connection.

Even stopping after the first three prompts can be powerful. Over time, you’ll build a richer vocabulary for your inner life and start noticing patterns.

How This Practice Helps with Healing

Most of us are not taught to identify needs. We are taught to push through, to downplay, or to think of needs as weakness. But the truth is that needs are universal. We all need safety, love, rest, meaning, connection, and play. When we learn to name our needs, we also learn to soften toward ourselves.

For me, NVC showed me that feelings are messengers, not enemies. They are signs pointing to what matters most. By bringing those feelings and needs into my journaling practice, I started to create a private space where I could be fully honest without fear of judgment.

Journaling prompts helped me move from overwhelm to clarity, one small step at a time.

My Experience Bringing It Into Life

One of the first times I used this practice outside of my journal, I was in a tense conversation with someone I love. Normally I would have lashed out or shut down. But instead I paused, took a breath, and said, “I’m feeling anxious because I really need clarity about what comes next.”

The shift in the conversation was immediate. Instead of going in circles about who was right or wrong, we started talking about what we each needed. That doesn’t mean everything magically resolved, but it did mean we could see each other with a little more softness.

In my journal, this practice continues to ground me. When I feel overwhelmed, I return to the lists. When I feel lost, I ask myself what need is going unmet. It’s not always neat and tidy, but it always helps me find a foothold.

Resources to Explore

If you want to dive deeper, Rosenberg’s book Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life is a beautiful place to start. (Affiliate link: Amazon)

And if you’re looking for a journal to pair with these practices, my favorite is the LEUCHTTURM1917 Hardcover A5 Dotted Notebook (affiliate link). The dotted pages give you freedom to write, sketch, or create your own structures as you practice identifying feelings and needs.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve ever wanted to journal more often but didn’t know how to start, try using simple journaling prompts for beginners. Pairing them with Nonviolent Communication gives you a practical framework to name what you’re feeling and needing.

Start small. One situation. One feeling. One need.

Over time, those small steps can open up a whole new way of being with yourself.

✨ For the ones writing their way through it: what feeling and need are you holding right now?

Writer, Poet, Journaling for Healing

Kristy Wessel is a writer, poet, and creative guide based in Minnesota. After experiencing a mental health crisis in 2018, she discovered journaling as a lifeline- a practice that helped her untangle anxiety, find clarity, and begin again. Out of that journey she founded Write to Heal, a space for burned-out, overwhelmed people to reconnect with themselves through words. Her work has appeared in The Loft Literary Center's Blog, Hippocampus Magazine, and Commoners Zine. When she isn’t writing, Kristy can often be found by the lake with her family, tending her garden, or filling yet another notebook with reflections.

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