I bounce between these patterns:
* I've nearly starved before, I don't need this
* I really like not worrying about food, maybe I'll grin and dance
Special case though, hardly any goals. Just getting by. Lost my 20s trying to get here
Anyway, few years passed, I changed jobs a few times, and one day I realized I actually just wanted to be compensated fairly, without my employer taking a large cut (my hourly rate in the beginning used to be way higher than what customers were billed for my work, so I knew it was attainable). Or, to not have to go above and beyond because my employer came up with "great" ideas that crept up into overtime territory "if I wanted to make it". Getting promoted was just a workaround for the actual goal, but it would increase my responsibilities a lot, and I never considered myself as someone made for management position (despite promising feedback). I'm glad it turned out this way.
So, the surprise was that I hit the goal, but realized it was something else all along (or I'm just coping).
Edit: checkmates -> check marks
I am more social than I’d like to admit, yet I dread all meetings. I guess I’m looking for the water cooler experiences and for me, those just don’t work online.
I make software projects on the side, and one day I made a decent amount of cash, starting at 0, from a huge surge in users.
Was really cool at first, after getting the cash I was really happy for like a week then I was really miserable.
Not sure why, didn’t like the “popularity” I think, felt very shallow
The lesson? I'm happy being unhappy.
The feelings of meaning pale in comparison to interacting with my young kids throwing carrots at the kitchen table or watching them be amazed with a frog they find.
Life is interesting!