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John_Maxwell_IV comments on Abandoning Cached Selves to Re-Write My Source Code Partially, I've Become Unstable - Less Wrong Discussion
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-- Daniel Dennet
I think it's possible that a utility-maximizing lifestyle can actually be fairly hedon-maximizing, especially if you take periodic breaks and vacations (which are optimal for achieving high energy and motivation anyway, in my experience).
I think the real thing to keep in mind re: fuzzies and utilons may not be that you should always purchase them separately. (What's wrong with a package deal?) Rather, I think it's that you should operate under some utility function that's a compromise of fuzzies and utilons, instead of aiming for just one or the other (and potentially leaving yourself open to periodic, messy willpower failures/preference reversals).
What would it be like to not have a purpose in life? When I was in high school, trying to decide what I wanted to be when I "grew up", thinking about my career was not fun. I knew I wanted to do something that I would enjoy, but my preferences didn't seem very stable--the appeal of different careers seemed to change hour to hour. I actually found refocusing on the goal of earning to give liberating. Now choosing a career meant analyzing external factors like earnings potential instead of my own unstable whims.
BTW, 80K have a bunch of blog posts on career choice and happiness:
Should we sacrifice doing what we love to make a difference?, parts 1 and 2
How to find a job you'll love
Do you really know what job will make you happy?
Don't do what you're passionate about, parts 1 and 2
Even if you have no altruistic inclinations whatsoever, though, I suspect high-paying careers are a good default because more money means more options. (Though this advice may only apply to people who are frugal; others may see their required standard of living rise with their income.)
See also: http://lesswrong.com/lw/bfy/you_only_live_once_a_reframing_of_working_towards/
I thought the article about fuzzies and utilons was essentially a warning that, at least for the author of the article, package deals are strictly worse. Which may be different for different people.
The reasons is that mere checking for utilon-efficiency of the package deal kills some of the fuzzies. By mere checking whether your package deal is utilon-good, you are making it fuzzies-worse. On the other hand, if you don't check it, it could be utilon-worse, and you wouldn't know it.
That's why the recommended solution is to buy a greater thoroughly examined utilon component, and a lesser unexamined fuzzies component separately.
The problem is that this is true whether the cause makes the world better or worse.
To quote Dennett on Happiness is a kind of practical joke I guess.
Dennett is magnificent, brilliant, engaging, fully white bearded, santa-claus like.
The one thing he is not is a happiness expert, specially a first person happiness expert.
In fact, of my intelectual idols (Chronologically listed): Nietzsche, Russell, Woody Allen, Miyazaki, Dennett, Roger Waters, Bostrom, Yudkoskwy. I would consider only Russell and Allen have interesting linguistic lessons with regards to happiness.
It was only supposed to be a data point.
I definitely think you should try to take some kind of vacation soon, regardless of your plans for after that.