Couples who work together do have midlife crisis. Children who leave the province do it for a reasons you don't agree. Misery, might or might not be a consequence of "moving from the province" or not having a goal. Personally I agree with your overall point and disagree with the presentation. Your examples look like busy work, disguised as meaningful and fulfilling. Something you'd amusingly read in the index of a self-help book, picked up out of curiosity in a dusty box at a garage sale. To sum up, some people pointed out, that this idea might not be transient to others. It requires the dedication, not just to patrol your life, but to patrol the lives of those who might unknowingly be part of your personal mission.