"Whenever people ask me why there is the existential vacuum, I give the following formula: animal instincts tell man what he needs and how he ought to live, people often can't understand what he actually wants. So, either he only wants to do what others do (that is, conformist), or he just does what I want – and want him – the others (that is, becomes a victim of totalitarianism)".
Viktor Frankl, "Suffering from the meaninglessness of life"

One of my friend told me that a few years ago, when she was about 30, she experienced a prolonged life crisis, during which everything she did in life was meaningless. At that moment, she was an employee of the Bank and wrote a thesis on the economy. She was a young professional, full of hope, with a responsible attitude and great prospects. The boss was pretty and it had a bid on it. Time for work and study took a very long, virtually her whole life, and at first she liked it and she thought it was right. And then she broke up with her boyfriend. And it seems that it's not caused her severe pain – by that time, relations have stalled, the desire to part was mutual. It has not lost presence of mind and decisively moving forward to achieve all your goals. And only after some time, she noticed that it was like something broke. br>
She described it like this: I like sitting on a chair on the edge of a precipice, beneath me the abyss, and I can't get up from my chair and leave, and forced to sit and stare into the abyss. And from the abyss persistently sounds the same question: "Why all this?". And before she answers the question, the chair disappeared. She said, "This chair on the edge of the abyss it always was there, just before I did not notice or pretended not to have seen. Business, work, relationships – everything is possible not to notice this chair, as if somewhere nearby is a building and a terrace where you gathered the cheerful company, grilling, drinks, and you quite a long time can listen to a simple prank your friends and never look back, but deep down you know that the chair-there is, and when friends leave and will end in additional troubles, you will inevitably be on it and you will have to answer to the main questions of your life". br>
"Sitting on existential chair" as they called it, my friend, lasted little more than a year. She had a long time to learn to separate their own goals from others, imposed by parents, teachers and other authorities. During this time, she dropped thesis, agreed to work on the translation to a remote format of work and went abroad, where the sea is always azure. Sending out beautiful cards. The answers she found to these questions. br>
And you found your answers?