Do you want to establish more intentional journaling habits? Journaling with intention helps you get clear with your purpose, work through your thoughts and emotions, be inspired, obtain more quality time with yourself, and see how far you've come on your journey. My intentional journaling ritual has taken me from the mindset of letting life happen to lead it with more enthusiasm.
What is Intentional Journaling?
Intentional journaling is a step-up from traditional journaling because it involves you taking action to attain your goal. This type of journaling differs from affirmations because an affirmation is a positive statement that helps reframe your beliefs. However, you can incorporate affirmations into your intentional journaling ritual.
Stating your intention is setting the tone for the day. You're inviting the type of energy you want to embody or the power you want to allow into your space. Without intention, it is hard to move forward and achieve a desirable circumstance. If you're wondering why you're stuck or why life is feeling stagnant, then try establishing an intentional journaling ritual and watch the energy move forward.
“Intention is one with cause and effect. Intention determines the outcome. And if you're stuck and not moving forward, you have to check the thought and the action that created the circumstance.”
— Oprah Winfrey
The Importance of Intentional Journaling
Intentional journaling has many benefits, many of which I have experienced. Years ago, when I was attending university, I wanted to attract better into my life. I did everything right on paper, but I felt that something was missing. As I started to establish daily and nightly rituals, I realized that I could only fill this void by finding my purpose.
When you have clarity of purpose, it feels as though everything starts to work in alignment. The act of journaling alone didn't accomplish this––it was the intention that I put into journaling that helped me work out my emotions, strategy, and get to the destination that I desired to be.
One of my favorite aspects of journaling is that it helped inspire a new mindset on becoming more magnetic and refining my life. Putting everything on paper enables you to rationalize and visualize the outcome.
“Our intention creates our reality.”
— Wayne Dyer
5 Intentional Journaling Essentials
You'll need to maintain a few essentials to maintain a more refined journaling experience—staying organized and having the bare necessity of tools helps you remain consistent and enthusiastic while journaling. Although most of these are optional, feel free to use them for reference as you progress in your journaling routine.
1. A High-Quality Journal
2. The Perfect Writing Utensil
3. Colored Pens or Highlighters
4. Stationary Storage
5. A Relaxing Space
“An unintentional life accepts everything and does nothing. An intentional life embraces only the things that will add to the mission of significance.”
— John C. Maxwell
5 Tips for Intentional Journaling
1. Be Clear with Your Intentions
An intention is a leading dogma for how you want to live and be in the world. Having a clear purpose is asking yourself the most important questions: What is most important to me? How do I want to show up? Knowing your intentions serves as a map to help you progress throughout the day.
Intention setting is different than goal setting because you don't attach an expectation to your intention. Purpose encourages alignment, which in turn can help you achieve your goals. Creating feminine rituals is a great way to set your choice for the day and establish clarity.
2. Use Journal Prompts and Reflections
Journal prompts and reflections a fantastic way to set the scene for your journaling time and spark an aha moment. Sometimes, we don't know where to start and forego journaling altogether without a proper guide.
In the Luxe Girl app, there are multiple categories of over 1,000 journal prompts and reflections tailored explicitly for women. You can download the app on any device on both @Apple and @Android devices.
3. Create a Pocket of Space for Yourself
Creating a pocket of space for myself was one of the most profound yet most straightforward changes I've implemented in my life. When you make a pocket of space, you're essentially tuning out from everything and giving yourself the time to be present without any outside distraction. It is a productive time of release, reflection, and renewal––perfect for sharpening your intentional journaling skills.
4. Seek Inspiration
A life without inspiration will make it difficult regarding your intentional journaling ritual. Getting out of your head, connecting, and experiencing life is what truly matters. Staying inspired keeps you enthusiastic about your purpose and goals and encourages your creative juices to flow. Terms such as writer's block, lack of motivation, or lack of strategy become solved by getting out of your head.
5. Track Your Progress
The remarkable aspect of journaling is that you can track your progress and see how far you've come. This view encourages you to celebrate the wins, even the small ones, and not be so hard on yourself.
Growth is not linear. We all have our good and bad days, but it's how we deal with the bad days that count. Seeing an undesirable situation on paper and having real-time data of how you worked through it inspires you to continue growing.
“When we can intentionally create space in our lives, we can intentionally decide what to fill it with.”
— Cait Flanders
Concluding Thoughts
Intentional journaling is a habit that adds clarity to your intentions, helps you rationalize your thoughts and emotions, inspires creativity, follows your growth in real-time. Leading life joyfully and knowing your purpose will evolve into a more refined and magnetic existence.
