How To Set Yourself Up For A Fab Future?

Trying to find your thing? Here’s our guide to identifying your ultimate inspiration...and finding your purpose in the process.

- 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 fierce and 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 Towson, 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 the old-school cutout kind or a digital drawing board.

If you want to tackle something tangible, grab a stack of magazines, photographs and prints that are lying around your room. Snip 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? Use Pinterest or the “save” function on Instagram to group images into a custom gallery or board. Grab everything that makes your eyes pop or your heart skip a beat when you see it—meaningful quotes, pro photos, even memes.

Take your time when compiling this craft—muse over it for a few days (or a few weeks!). And when you feel like you’ve put together a collection of things you care about? Step back, soak it in and look for parallels or themes.