One of the most effective ways to strengthen your intuition is to write things down. As in, take notes. Very good notes.
Why? Because like a detective who’s trying to solve a mystery, when we keep track of our intuitive clues – all those hunches, gut feelings, synchronicities, dreams, or flashes of insight – we are better able connect the dots, see how things are connected, and make sense of it all.
But not only that. We also get a sense of how to actually use those clues to guide our actions and make positive changes in our lives. Certainly worth the few moments of time it takes to jot things down, don’t you think?
The way intuition communicates is very subtle and fleeting, so we usually brush it off or don’t pay attention to it. Then, we simply forget.
But when we do this, we’re missing valuable clues.
It could be a random thought that pops to mind out of nowhere, a flash of inspiration, or the sudden urge to do something. We brush these kinds of things off and treat them like they aren’t important. But these are exactly the types of ways that intuition communicates with us.
Since intuition is so slight and subtle, we need to pay closer attention. Writing things down is a way to help us do that.
By writing things down, we train ourselves to pay attention.
We have to pay attention in order to know what to capture and keep a log of. Plus, we have the added benefit of a written trail of clues. Clues that we can always look back on and refer to later.
Another benefit of writing things down is that we can discover the different ways our intuition communicates with us, which is slightly different for everyone.
As you track how your intuition communicates and make observations about the intuitive impulses you receive, you also begin to discover that you receive much more guidance on a day-to-day basis than you ever realized.
Whether it’s a first impression you have of someone you just met, a “feeling”, an inspired idea, or some chance encounter, there’s a stream of guidance that is always flowing to you.
The question is: Are you listening?
Confidence Booster
Another benefit of writing things down is that it boosts your self-confidence.
As you begin to amass evidence of your intuition and how it guides you in everyday life, your confidence in it, and yourself, grows.
Plus, who doesn’t love saying, “I knew it!” or “I was right!”
Once you start keeping an intuition journal, you’ll find yourself saying this more and more often. ;-)
The confidence boost is especially helpful when it comes to decision making.
The more you trust the guidance coming from within, the more confident you become in making decisions. Instead of looking outside for answers or being overly influenced by the opinions of others, you trust yourself and your own internal wisdom. Instead of feeling confused or overwhelmed, you feel a sense of calm, clear knowing.
It’s an upward spiral.
The more you trust your intuition, the more you follow it. The more you follow it, the better results you get… The better results you get, the more you trust it… The more you trust it, the more you use it… and so on and so on.
This whole self-reinforcing cycle is spurred on with the help of your journal.
You realize that you aren’t crazy.
You have evidence of your “intuitive hits” and misses, those dreams that ended up actually meaning something, and how all your hunches, instincts, and gut feelings panned out.
When in doubt? Open up your journal and check out your notes. It’s all there. All written down.
Discover your intuitive “style”
Keeping track of your intuition also helps you discover the primary ways in which you tend to receive intuitive guidance, which varies from person to person.
Does your intuition communicate to you mainly through thoughts? Feelings? Physical sensations? Images? Dreams? A combination of these?
Learning how your intuition tends to communicate with you makes it easier for you to pick up on it in the future. By keeping track of the subtle nuances and ways that your intuition comes through, you get a much better sense of your own particular intuitive style, which makes it easier to recognize it in the future.
What to track?
Here are some of the types of things you can track:
- Did you have a hunch or gut feeling about something? If so, what happened? What did you do about it? What was the outcome?
- Did inspiration strike you? An awesome idea pop to mind? What was it?
- Did you experience any synchronicities or coincidences?
- Did you ignore your intuition about something? What happened?
For example: You are thinking about someone, then just a few seconds later, they call or message you. You have an inexplicable urge to go somewhere, then end up running into an old friend who just so happens to have something that you need, such as a tip, contact, or other useful piece of information. You meet someone for the first time, but have a bad feeling about them, even though you don’t know exactly why. A seemingly random idea keeps popping into your mind…
What could these things mean? You may not know in the moment, but over time, the answer to this question is often revealed. But if they aren’t written down somewhere, they usually just tend to fade from memory.
So, write things down before you forget.
You can use whatever form of journal you want. The main thing is to have a dedicated place to write things down.
To help you capture things while on the go, we created an intuition app that provides an easy to use, portable journal designed specifically for this purpose.
We love putting pen to paper, however, we noticed that intuitive impulses and ideas often come up when we’re out and about – and usually at the most unexpected moments. So, having a journal on our phone ensures that we don’t miss anything.
Using the intuition app
With the Intuition Journal app, you can add tags to your journal entries, search through past entries, and take voice-to-text notes (great for when you’re on the go or just waking up and want to record a dream).
The app also includes tips, writing prompts, and intuition exercises to help strengthen your intuitive muscles and quiet your mind so you can more easily tap in to your intuition.
The biggest plus? Since the app is on your phone, your journal is always with you. :-)
Ok, that’s enough self-promotion. Sorry about that. We just get a bit excited when talking about i!
Of course, you don’t need to use the app. Use whatever works best for you. The main thing is to write things down. So, choose something that you’ll actually use.
Wishing you many insightful discoveries!
