There are so many different modes of living, so many different values to embody, so many happy and unhappy people who lead mundane lives and intense lives, Some people devote their careers to getting the most money with the least necessary work so they can lead some idyllic life with a spouse and kids. Some people work for the sake of work, passionate not about anything consequential about their profession, but about the process of exertion. Some people choose careers because they are on a mission. To save the world, maybe. Or to provide security for one's loved ones. Or to create something wonderful, a magnum opus. I know that life is not inherently meaningful. I know that I am free, that I have the prerogative over not just the sort of life I live, but even over how it matters to me. But how do I decide the way I'll exercise this prerogative? How can I make any decision about the sort of values I'll live for when I've not yet committed to any besides truth? It seems like a paradox. Or worse, incoherent. I know this, so why does the problem keep bugging me? What are you guys' answer to that question — what are your lives for? — and how did you choose or conclude this?
I question this sometimes too. But in all honesty I think people just 'go with the flow'. By this I mean see where their qualifications take them, what jobs they can do, and then pick a path from there. Things will sort themselves out eventually and you'll find your way of living soon enough, I'm sure.
I do not know what my life is for. I may never find out. Though apparently I chose my profession from a very early age and stuck with it and that decision has determined many other things. But my brothers and sister U-turned and changed their lives in remarkable ways. I see things as a series of stages where you always have choices - and not to feel you have to stick rigidly to a master plan. For example, if you go to Uni, you do the course, pass, and then re-assess whether you want to go in one direction or another. Or change direction altogether. The other variable factor is relationships and how that may divert your life plan from time to time in the future in unexpected ways. Sorry that probably didn't help at all!!!
But going with the flow necessarily limits you. There are a lot of places in life that it takes intense passion and dedication to get to. Without a more active approach to life, you'll never get there.