Find Your *thing*

Here's our guide to identifying your passion...and finding your purpose in the process.

- By Kelsey Haywood Lucas

Maybe you've got a million activities you enjoy-but you're hoping to hone in on what truly makes you happy. Or maybe you've been absent-mindedly floating through a rotation of random hobbies, never landing on that one special thing that makes you feel fulfilled or fired up.

While there's no need to limit your interests or force yourself onto a predetermined path, finding a point of focus allows you to dig deeper, connect with yourself and feel more motivated, says Jessica Kaplin, a therapist based in Bel Air, Md.

Emotional investment activates the dopamine (or reward] center of your brain and reinforces overall positive functioning, she explains. It also enhances your self-esteem.

Follow these steps for propelling that casual interest or untapped skill into something that fuels you-even if you don't know what it is yet.

CURATE YOUR CALLING

First step to streamlining your interests? Put your passion into pictures with a vision board, whether it's an old-school cutout collage or a Pinterest collection.

If you want to tackle something tangible, grab a stack of magazines, photographs and prints that are lying around your room. Snag any pics that you're drawn to, without thinking about the why quite yet, and arrange the images on a cork or poster board.

Feeling more inspired by the content you see online? Make a special saves folder on Instagram featuring whatever you're drawn to-from meaningful quotes to artwork to aesthetic inspo to memes.