Hmm , I slightly disagree . I think knowing who you are is important , but so is knowing what you want to be . How you act in the moment should ideally always be bringing you closer to that future vision of an ideal self . Like if future you cooks dinner four nights a week rather than eating out and keeps the house clean , but present you isn ' t the type of person who does those things , you will never become that type unless you consciously focus on it . I think it ' s always good to have goals and work towards them . However , in other ways it is bad to try to be something you ' re not , if that present decision is not building towards future you . I am struggling with that in my job search now . Sometimes I see a job and I ' m like yeah , maybe , I could be interested in that , while knowing it ' s not totally fitting into my vision . Jobs are tough because you kinda can ' t be too picky , but you also don ' t want to be faking interest for years on end