Intentional Living Journal Prompts That Will Transform Your Life

daily reflective journal prompts

Daily reflective journal prompts will help you become more intentional and take back control of your life.

 

Do you ever feel like life is just happening to you? Like everything that happens is out of your control? If that is so, then you need to learn how to take control of your life by becoming intentional. First with your thoughts and then with your actions.  

Benefits of being intentional

Living intentionally means that everything you do is in accordance with your values. You are careful with your time and energy. And you start choosing where you’ll invest yourself. You intentionally choose what you will do and think. 

By living intentionally you become fulfilled and happy. The quality of your life increases because you always choose to do what’s right by your values. 

Gradually you’ll stop wasting your time and energy on things that don’t bring value to your life. Prioritizing activities that uplift you and avoiding activities that drain you emotionally. 

Start by being intentional with your thoughts, this will help you shift your inner dialogue from destructive to constructive. Instead of dwelling on mistakes, misfortune, and lack, intentionally choose to think about all the ways you can improve yourself and your life. Reflective journal prompts can help you with that.

How can reflective journal prompts help you become more intentional?

When your thoughts become intentional your actions will follow. We are what we think. This is one of the most underrated truths. The thoughts you hold in your mind the most will shape not only what you do but also who you are. When you take control of your thoughts you take control of your life. 

Daily reflection will help you take notice of the thoughts that occupy your mind the most. All the worries, fears, and blockades you have can be resolved simply by being aware of them. 

There is so much going on in our lives that we are rarely aware of all these thoughts. They come and go, and often fly under the radar of our consciousness. Yet they leave a mark on us, they define us.

Writing a journal that is guided by prompts will help you reflect on your thoughts. Doing this daily will train your mind to become aware of these thoughts when they arise and this will give you the opportunity to change negative, destructive thoughts with positive, constructive ones. This act itself means you became intentional with your thoughts. After you take control of your thoughts you’ll consequently start living an intentional life.

become more intentional with daily reflective journal prompts

Daily reflective journal prompts

Thoughts we hold and words we tell ourselves shape who we are.  You can learn to be intentional with your thoughts and words. Use these journal prompts to reflect and become intentional. 

Activities that make me happy

Which activities did you do today that made you feel happy and fulfilled? 

Describe what you did and how you felt while doing it. 

Doing activities you enjoy and make you happy is as important as fulfilling your obligations. If your day is filled only with things you must do like work, house chores, and other similar activities you must do but don’t necessarily bring you joy. Your life will feel monotonous and you will not feel good about yourself. You might even start looking at your life as one big chore. So adding small activities throughout the day that make you feel happy will definitely improve the quality of your life and help you live more intentionally. 

Plan for those activities and write about them in your journal. Occupy your mind with thoughts of them to help you enjoy and appreciate these moments even more. 

Choose activities that are in line with your values. Those will bring you a deeper sense of meaning and joy. 

I can’t…

Which limiting thoughts did you have about your abilities? 

There are just a few things a person really can’t do, everything else is a matter of learning, practicing, and time. 

Take notice of the can’ts you tell yourself during the day. Write them all down. First, decide whether you honestly want to do it or not. Was it just something you said at the moment or is it something you wish you could do but think it’s outside of your abilities. 

If it’s something you don’t really want then rephrase your can’t into I don’t want. And every time you catch yourself saying I can’t say I don’t want instead.

Now if your can’t is something you truly wish you could do. Then it’s time to figure out why you can’t do it. Is it really out of your reach or have you just not stretched yourself far enough? Did you study enough, practice enough, did you give yourself enough time to develop the knowledge and skill? Rare are the people that are born with a talent, the majority has to spend time learning and doing to become good at something. 

Words I can’t can be detrimental to your brain and self-esteem. Figure out what you truly want and don’t want. Then use appropriate words. 

Today I was present

In which situations were you present with your full attention? 

Describe situations during the day when you slowed down and just lived in the moment. Without worrying or planning or thinking about anything else besides the moment you are experiencing. 

Being present in the moment is an integral part of living intentionally. When describing a situation in which you were fully immersed in the moment, try to remember the sounds, smells, colors, textures, and every little detail of that situation. Relive the moment once again. Doing this regularly will train your brain to pay attention to life. 

reflective journal prompts

Today’s wins

It’s important to acknowledge your own victories. Grow your faith in your own abilities by celebrating every win, no matter how small it may seem. This will give you confidence and motivation to keep on trying new things and working on your goals.

What did you accomplish today that you are proud of? 

What can you do today that you thought you couldn’t do a year ago? 

How do you encourage yourself to do something new? 

In&out of my control

This is a helpful self-therapy exercise you can do whenever you are feeling stressed and burdened with life. 

In any given situation there are things you can control and things you can’t. When you find yourself in a difficult situation try this exercise to restore your calm and confidence. 

In your journal draw a circle. 

Things I can control

Inside a circle write all the things that you can control. Sometimes that will maybe only be your thoughts, and that’s ok. Our thoughts are powerful so use this as a reminder that no matter how difficult the situation you can still choose to think positively and find meaning in the hardship. 

Things I can’t control

Outside of the circle write everything that is out of your control. When you write it all, accept that you can’t control everything. Take a deep breath, relax and release. Holding yourself hostage to stress and clenching your teeth with anguish will not resolve your situation and will make you feel physically weak. On the other hand, accepting the situation and hoping for the best outcome will fill you with calmness and relax your whole body making you feel strong and resilient. 

Living intentionally means choosing your thoughts in any situation regardless of its severity. This journal prompt will help you with that.

My values

The first step to being intentional is knowing your values. 

Write about your values. Rationalize your values, get into the details. Why do you value those things? How do you stay true to your values in your daily life? Do you dedicate enough time and energy to the things you value the most, if not why not, what is stopping you? How can you make your life be more in accordance with your values? What in your life right now is against your values, how can you fix that?

Thinking and writing about your values regularly will motivate you to reflect on your life and how much do you really live the way you want to live. 

reflective journal prompts to become intentional

My current goals

Which goals are you currently pursuing and what did you do today to get you closer to accomplishing them. Consistent efforts over time build up to great things. Whatever your goal is, keeping track of your progress will help you intentionally choose to do actions that will help you move forward. Sort of like an accountability buddy, you will not want to write in the journal “I did nothing today to get closer to my goal.” Sometimes you will do the smallest task just so you have something to write about. And other days you’ll give all you got and feel immense joy while writing about it. 

My decision-making process

Whenever you have a decision to make, write your thinking process in the journal. This will help you fully immerse yourself in the issue. Go over every possibility, pros and cons, possible problems or advantages. What does your gut tell you? How do you feel about it? 

Later on, you’ll have a record of all your thoughts and considerations which will help you make an informed decision. 

Alone time

How do you spend your alone time? Do you enjoy it, or are you distracting yourself from being with yourself? The relationship you have with yourself is the most important relationship you have in your life. Write about it. Become intentional with your alone time. Plan for it and use it to get to know the deepest parts of yourself, grow yourself, and enjoy yourself. Writing out reflective journal prompts is a great way of spending alone time. 

Favorite moment

What was your favorite moment of the day? Describe it using all 5 senses. Living intentionally includes experiencing life with all 5 senses. The brain tends to go on autopilot and push back these details as insignificant. This simple exercise will train your brain to pay attention to details that make life. 

 

PIN FOR LATER!

Daily Reflective Journal Prompts

 

MORE JOURNAL PROMPTS:

Three Journal Prompts To Answer Daily That Will Transform Your Life

100 Art Journal Prompts To Inspire You On A Creative Self-Expression

110 Eye-Opening Journal Prompts to Encourage Self-Awareness 

 

If you have any reflective journal prompts of your own, be kind and share them in the comments to inspire others.

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