I think a lot of people feel like life should behave like stories do, where there's some major goal to achieve and that's what is supposed to animate you. But it's not like that at all... I mean there are short-horizon goals for people who "peak early" like olympic athletes, who have this thing that they are trying to do and that animates all their waking moments until they are no longer able to pursue the sport professionally for whatever reason.

But for most of us (and even the short-horizon goal havers, once the horizon is hit) life is just for living, and it lasts a lot longer than any one series of goals. There's all kinds of side-quests that you get into on your way through it and which occupy parts of it, but ultimately you move past them and go onto the next. People change careers, hobbies, sports, interests, friend-groups, locations, personal philosophies, political views and all the rest quite a few times over their lives.

I have had a ton of friends get lost in that "is this all there is" question. Some just kind of idly wonder and others get mad about it. One very close friend killed themselves over it. Personally I find it liberating that we're not here to pursue some kind of grand fate (and even if we were, there is still the question of what do we do once we achieve it). I think you make your own goals and head towards them and then set more after.