Buying vs. not buying lottery tickets has very little to do with pursuing vs. not pursuing any particular goals, so I'm not sure why you frame it as a choice be

Buying vs. not buying lottery tickets has very little to do with pursuing vs. not pursuing any particular goals, so I'm not sure why you frame it as a choice between the two. Buying lottery tickets looks irrational on basis of expected value, but it is a very narrow and somewhat self-contradictory definition of rationality.