[grumdan]

I would see it the other way around: To me the real issue is that our minds have a tendency to create a lot of unnecessary stress for ourselves and make us focus on goals that are unlikely to produce any lasting happiness, like constantly striving for new achievements.

Meditation, at least some forms of it, are attacking this particular problem at the source and try to help people let go of these mental habits. I get the converse feeling that hobbies / meeting up with friends / putting a lot of effort into work are engaging, but they also feel like pleasant distractions instead of addressing what I see as the real underlying issue. This is highly subjective and depends on on what ones wants to do with one's life, but meditation certainly isn't a surrogate solution to me.