This is a great take. It's sad that most 'self help' is not this clear or articulate... mostly because it's snake oil that's about feelings and not about pragmatic choices.

Unhappy people never make pragmatic choices... they are always chasing these abstract nonsense concepts that they will never attain, because they are not attainable. Wanting to be good at something is very different and vague, but setting a reasonable goal of wanting to achieve something in a set time is is a way to build a rewarding and self-validating life. Especially if it's set against yourself. "I want to be 1m faster in my 5K run" is clear and attainable goal, but saying "I want to win every 5K I enter this year" is one that is going to lead to failure.

And most people setup their goals very much like the latter. Every miserable person I meet is just... often very angry they aren't leading a lifestyle of fame and wealth, and rather than making smart choices to enhance their improve es year by year, they just go on debt binges or other self-destructive choices that move their further away from their desires. And often those desire aren't even really their own... they are just stuff they are convinced they want because other people want it and they need to want it too otherwise people won't like them...