Mentally I lean towards doing something meaningful. But society is conditioned to think if something doesnt pay, it's worthless. Of course I know it can't be true, with open source work and so much art and writing done just for the creator. But it's hard to shake that thought.
As long as we are making enough money to live a lifestyle without worrying about savings, retirement and other expenses (which are being held in a separate account), I am content.
I try not to think about big payouts or anything beyond the next month. My current job pays me enough for me to be happy about it. I learn new things and try to gain more expertise, just for the self satisfaction. My recent fascination is to see if you can use a game development engine (Godot) to create animated shorts.
If you just want someone to talk about this, my email is in my profile.
PS: For those who know about this hobby, yes all the money I earn goes poof into gear, travel, stay in nice resorts etc.
My resolution is to treat charitable / volunteer work as being my pay-it-forwards contribution to society.
Then I consider commercially viability of any project as the measure of the value it produces and delivers. I simply see money as an exchange for value delivered. The greater the value, the greater the revenue.
I have undertaken many hobby projects. For these, there is zero expectation of making money. The reward is in the experience / learning. When the pleasure ceases I drop them. There is no sense of obligation to continue because it always was meant to be for personal satisfaction.
> I had the good fortune (and good financial management) to make some investments with my savings so I'm probably able to live without working for 10 or 15 years. But I don't want to be aimless for that entire time.
Emotion 1 says "I want a purpose in life. I am well set financially and I would like to do something that is meaningful (for me and/or for the world)".
>I have some hobbies but they're not practical to make a living out of.
Emotion 2 says "Whatever I choose to do, should also be financially viable."
The conflict between these two is making it hard for you choose what to do. Pick one of these. Do you want a purpose that would be meaningful, even if you make no money out of it? Or do you want a job that would pay you enough, but maybe not so meaningful? You cannot evaluate option 1 with criteria for option 2 and vice versa.