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Most of the comments here fall into two camps: work can be inherently meaningful, or work is transactional. I think most of us would agree that there are certain goals worth sustained sacrifice. The question is: when is work worthy?

There are life experiences such as team sports that are opportunities for great personal growth with objectively silly goals (throw the ball into the hoop). For many young adults, the experience of being part of a passionate and dedicated community is itself intoxicating. It can be work, a religious group, or a Discord server. It may not matter what the goal is, the goal is the group. As people develop deeper attachments, have a family, this goal of belonging seems less important. We begin to reexamine the goals we have aligned our life around.

Eventually, it is human to question every goal. Why did I want to squat 400 pounds? To increase the world’s GDP? Why did I want to reach the moon? To reduce suffering? We may reject this line is thinking, or we look to those who have asked this question before us, and we find an explanation that lets us move on.