My bad then
Travel for work or leisure is a different story
I thought she was talking about drifting around akin to what I did for a while.
Waffles!
Haberdashery!
Squabble?
Trapezoidal prism
Cheeseburger
@Andrewgen_Receptors did you know you can use chatgpt to write memes?
Biotest surge is what I mean. I didn’t know there was another kind?
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Surge made by Coke was a citrus soda beverage that was meant to compete with Mountain Dew made by Pepsi, after Mellow Yellow failed to do so.
It was actually fairly successful for awhile, but their marketing was perhaps it’s down fall. Mountain Dew’s marketing was a lot of extreme sports. Surge’s commercials showed teenagers with a lot of energy doing parkour type stuff. It was marketed as having more kick than Mountain Dew (even though it had less caffeine). It was popular with gamer. The marketing is seen by some as the reason that nearly every school banned it from vending machines. After that happened it was down hill for Surge.
I kinda like the commercials. They are about as 90s as possible. Reminds me of my youth.
Sorry, very off topic.
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I do have a vague recollection of that, now that I see that commercial. But, no, haven’t had that in years if I ever had it at all.
Yes, the travels are for leisure, not to “find myself”. I do it because I love it. I have a husband that is my adventure buddy. I have a stable career. My reality is amazing, no break needed.
Like Andrew, my intatiable desire is travel. I always want more. I am planning the next trip on the way home from the current one. To use his analogy, my buffet plate is overflowing with trips, and I continue to grab another plate. Everyone chooses their poison. A month long trip? On the docket for next year. That itch won’t be scratched. It will make it itch more. Just like 10lbs of muscle makes you want more.
The dog thing was just was example of the things you may choose not to have to heavily pursue a hobby.
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Apologies for the misunderstanding
I also enjoy travel. I intend to go back to Europe and USA at the end of next year 
Aside from moving around constantly growing up, on two occasions I left Aus to try find myself… and I realised through this endeavour that it wasn’t the country/culture itself within Aus/wherever that was necessarily the issue (aside from the manny state bs in Aus that irritates the shit out of me).
Rather, I came to the realisation that my constant moving around throughout my childhood has led to a degree of arrested development. Having been exposed and partially integrated into so many different cultural archetypes despite never being able to settle down led me to develop an odd mix of values and expectations.
As a result, side from being autistic I feel/felt like a bit of an outcast no matter where I went because my experiences/the way I grew up is alien to most… and I never managed to fully fully integrate into a specific sociocultural archetype.
As @Andrewgen_Receptors said, that’s more about me… hence I apologise. I was worried you were contemplating a similar dynamic (going from place to place to place and never settling down) and wanted to give my perspective on how that can eventuate.
I will also probably study a semester abroad to be with family overseas that I’m close to, but don’t get to see often enough.
I did not intend to be disrespectful. Enjoy your travels. Travelling for leisure is a LOT of fun
Have you ever been to Japan?
I have not.
I wanted some time to stew on the topics you have presented here because for a long time I think I felt quite similarly to you and I only recently realized how toxic that has been for me (that along with some other crap I needed therapy to work through).
I have had “bigorexia” before, and constantly pushed myself hard to do “more” or be better in everything in life (career, fatherhood, “being a man”). It caused me to miss a lot of joy by not being in the present. It was eye opening to me to see this. I don’t regret pursuing education and career so heavily as it has afforded me a decent salary (my salary has gone up 150% in less than 6 years) now but slowing down a bit has had a tremendous positive effect on me emotionally.
Constant pursuit of more causes me tremendous anxiety and I am actually trying to go more minimal in my life to combat that.
I suggest taking a good retrospective as to why you feel this way exactly and if you are truly happy or just suppressing some stuff. Of course, this is all my own opinion and anecdotal experience and your mileage may vary.
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UPDATE:
So I don’t have an answer as to what my “end goal” is, and I don’t know if that will change. That’s okay.
I want to travel; this weekend I’ve planned a trip out to Death Valley with the family. Possibly staying overnight, but at least getting to experience the place when I have a good opportunity to.
I also want to take a trip out to Iceland, probably some tropical islands with fruity drinks, go on Safari, see Dubai, etc. I want to give myself, my wife, and child(ren) those experiences.
I don’t want to work 60-80 hour weeks indefinitely, but I do need to stay busy. I am incapable of sitting still and doing nothing - it’s one of the reasons I was attracted to the gym… because I can always make progress. I can’t help but feel compelled to make progress in life as I’m a firm believer that no progress and going backwards are one in the same.
Thanks all for the discussion, it has allowed me to look into myself and see some what I want out of life.
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Welcome to the club, my friend.
It is very distinguished, however not well attended.
Most of us have spent the better part of our lives picking up heavy objects, only to set them down again, and repeat until spent.
The question is not what drives us, but what is the lack of drive in others who don’t understand our values and goals.
Dissatisfaction is what drives us, once you and I achieve self approval, then our quest will be over, so I say to lean into your dissatisfaction, and be better then those you surround yourself with.
Nobody ever “makes it”, we just go from one goal to another. We train for the 10k, do the 10k, then start training for the powerlifting event. It’s not a vicious cycle, its who we are.
It’s why we found each other on this forum.
No, it’s not normal, it’s better.
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I need more people like you in my circle. If you ever want to connect off the forum, my secure email is in my bio.
I don’t think there’s one ultimate goal that will be the epiphany of the meaning of life.
Only decisions on where to best direct your energy as you go.
What seems incredible now will be run of the mill by the time you achieve/earn it. Paradigm shifts are weird. And there is always the next level.
Unfortunately time limits all of us, so get to know yourself well enough to know where the important directions/channels for your energy are, and use discipline to stay the course/s.
Just spinning in to any random thing is a cheap thrill, not much different than a drunk or high night, and potentially taking away from being even better at something more meaningful than a shitty medal to remember.
Make it a goal to define your values. Better than goals, they’ll tell you where to aim. Then fill them with whatever activities and goals fulfill them while suiting you.
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Sound advice (again). I’d be happy to keep in contact outside this forum if you’re keen. Email is in my bio, if you ever want to chat offline.