The only issue with the "what do I want" framing is that if you end up with an answer something along the lines of "to fulfill my potential", then it can quickl

The only issue with the "what do I want" framing is that if you end up with an answer something along the lines of "to fulfill my potential", then it can quickly be discarded in favor of "who am I" ("know thyself") + "do stuff". According to the Cal Newport / Viktor Frankl philosophy of life, there's no a priori 'what you want', and what you want right now probably isn't 'what you want.' Finding mastery and meaning in life – which, for them, is the goal – is best achieved through throwing yourself into things, deliberate practice, ruthless introspection, and taking advantage of chance opportunities. Things like "work/life balance" can conflict with the process, and I often wonder if asking what you want at an early stage is premature optimization. I used to be critical of people who jumped immediately into big commitments (i.e. PhDs, working at Google), thinking they were "drones" who hadn't properly reflected on life, but now I realize that at least some of them are consciously or unconsciously doing the job of finding out.