Just a side-comment: There's a large misconception or myth in the both the OP and in a number of comments: "figure out what you/I want to do." A quick thought

Just a side-comment: There's a large misconception or myth in the both the OP and in a number of comments: "figure out what you/I want to do." A quick thought experiment to prove my point: If you have never tasted or experienced pizza, can you know that you "want" pizza? I think a lot of people grow up with the myth that if you think enough about yourself, you can figure out what you really want. Personally, I think that it's the opposite: you can only make a guess at what you want and figure out if you want it by doing it. This of course can be very risky but I don't think there's a way around that. This is also why a lot of people stay in jobs (and relationships) that they do not like. However, there are a lot of cases where you can learn to enjoy an activity that you have never done before. (See below). Another thought experiment: many children refuse to eat certain foods because they have an initial "weird" experience with them: tomatoes, sour cream, celery, bread crusts, fish, shrimp, etc. However, many of these kids also end up if not regularly eating but sometimes even very much enjoying these foods as they grow older. The only difference between children and adults is that adults are older. And, my theory is also that dunning-kruger is WAY more pervasive than anyone thinks: how much do you know about yourself? About life? What are the chances that dunning-kruger applies to you on these subjects? I also agree with a number of other comments about how your environment has a far larger impact on your enjoyment than you think. Most people think that the content of a job is the largest deciding factor in whether or not you enjoy it -- but it may be your colleagues, your commute or simply even your health. How sure are you that it's the content of your work and not the team around you? One last comment: psychology in the 21st century is comparable to medicine in the 15th: mental diseases are categorised by symptom (not cause) and there's a reproducability crisis, to start with. Tip for the OP: at the very least, do this: write down 5 possible jobs, find people who do them and go talk to them about them for an hour: buy them lunch or dinner. Everyone likes talking about themselves. Ask them about what they enjoy _and_ what they hate. Also, it sounds like the OP is slightly perfectionist: you don't have to be young or excited about stuff, you just have to be interested in it. Stop being a perfectionist with yourself.