It feels like a deadline because in many ways it *is* a soft deadline. It is an uncomfortable fact, but at 30 you are about ten years into the productive fifty

It feels like a deadline because in many ways it *is* a soft deadline. It is an uncomfortable fact, but at 30 you are about ten years into the productive fifty years of your life. You are about ten years into the thirty years of your life (~20~50) where you can take on major projects, which often take 15-20 years, and be confident you can see them through. It sounds like over the next two years you need to figure out what you want and what you can accomplish; that is lots of time. However, I wouldn't discount advice the way you do. It's true that people are figuring out where they are, but advice from people who've already passed through where you are in life is informative.