Mason  🏃‍♂️ ✂️

To illustrate the difference. Suppose you enjoy being creative about something. Then you should be doing it right now but also think about how to build a support system that will allow you to do it over time. That may mean pursuing certain roles or building certain relationships

OTOH you have corporate ladder climbing. It might superficially look very similar to that but really people are not doing what they want and are hoping that one day they will finally get to do what they want, be happy and there will be cake. And the cake if often a lie.

Happiness/satisfaction is the ultimate guide. The feedback loop is super tight. If you're not happy, it's a red flag to step back & figure out what you want. If you *are* happy, it's good to know which destinations are available & think about which ones really meet your desires

I think that's actually a good thing to know even (or especially) if you are unhappy. The main reason unhappy people get stuck is because their unhappiness is preventing them from figuring out new paths and destinations even if they sort of know what they want.

Sometimes true, but I think stable unhappiness is more often either (a) thinking you know what you want, but disregarding evidence against it (the corporate ladder scenario), or (b) disowning what you really want, e.g. because it violates what's expected of you

Interesting. What would be an example of b)?

Generic scenario: kid comes from fairly wealthy family, gets obsessed w/ theater; his parents are initially supportive (extracurriculars make good resume items), but cool on it as he ages. He starts to consider it a low-level hobby → stops seeking mastery → gets bored with it

(I think it's pretty easy to be unhappy doing something you generally love if you don't allow yourself to do it in a context where you can seek mastery, and if you've internalized the belief that it's fine for leisure but a waste of time, you're likely to find yourself there.)