Whispering in Wonderland | By Alicia Izzo

How to find what sparks you

I love all things life journey and self help. It’s more important than ever in today’s world! I’m going to share how to find what sparks you, as I’ve embarked and embraced my journey over the years.

Being stuck is tough, spark it up!

Look, I don’t need to tell you that feeling like you’re stuck and going nowhere is tough.

Somewhere between the age of 22 and 28 I figured out I wasn’t happy with my day job. I knew the industry I was in wasn’t what I was made to do.

There were many days I went to work with an overwhelming feeling of unfulfillment. I knew there had to be more to life but I wasn’t sure what that was, or what it meant.

At that point, I made the decision it was time to do something about it. I needed to make changes. I’m going to share everything I did, and still do today, with you to find what sparks you.

Find a mentor you trust to help you find what sparks you

I had no idea where to start when I hit my moment of unhappiness. Thankfully, I decided I had to find someone to talk to outside of my family.

I’ve always been super close with my parents and have had many talks with them over the years about this, but I knew I needed outside advice.

Ito start, I asked my boss who I should talk to, outside of her.

I got involved with any extra curricular activity I could at work and met tons of people.

Those people connected me with some of the best mentors I’ve ever had.

While looking for a mentor, you need to seek someone who is different from whatever it is you don’t like. Seek someone who you believe has accomplished some really amazing things in life that you admire.

Say please!

Once you have luck finding that person, you need to prepare to ask them to be your mentor. Don’t assume that someone will devote their busy schedule time to you just because you need them.

I always request a meeting, even if I fear it’ll get turned down.

The good news is, I’ve never had anyone deny a meeting that I’ve requested time with.

Before you ask, you need to make sure the mentorship will be a good fit for both of you. Remember, you’re there to seek advice and soak up all the info you can get!

Set the schedule

Once you have a mentor (or mentors), make sure you discuss the logistics of your meetings. Here is a breakdown of what you should plan with them:

How often to meet
Where the meeting occurs
The length of the meeting
Applicable meeting agendas

Once you have determined logistics, get it scheduled! If you’re the one asking, it’s up to you to make it happen.

Create a vision board

Vision boards are a great tool for finding what sparks you. They are especially great because there are no rules for how to create them.

You simply compile a bunch of images on a board for what you want your dream life to be like.

Think of Pinterest, it’s pretty similar to what you do on Pinterest, except you’ll create one to display where you’ll see it all the time.

The idea behind a vision board is that by composing images of the things you want, and displaying it where you will see it every day, your brain will subconsciously work to manifest that life for you.

If you’re ready to create your vision board, I wrote a post containing all the details on how to do so here.

I created one and look at it every day while I’m working in my office.

Take a trip to find what sparks you!

This is one of my favorite ways to find what sparks you. Every time I go on a trip, I come back feeling refreshed, motivated and alive!

I absolutely love having trips where I can dedicate time to exploring and resetting. Some of the most eye opening, life changing moments came from trips to LA and NYC.

Here are some rules to make your trip successful:

Plan three things to explore at your destination
Make sure majority of the time is FUN/FREE time
Plan some time to sit and people watch. This could be at a coffee shop, or at an outdoor mall or beach.
Research one of the most popular things to do at your destination and do it!
Enjoy the journey there, whether it’s on a plane or in a car (or bus, etc)
LET GO

Every time I come back home from a trip, I feel like a new person. I feel like I’ve learned, grown and experienced things out of my comfort zone.

I come back feeling refreshed and with a better outlook than before I left.

I’m not saying this trip has to be grandiose, but at least go somewhere you can get out and explore!

Pro tip: stay at an airbnb and save that money, honey!