To navigate through life, we must work within a framework that I'd like to sum up with a simple model: value-criterion (yes, this is from debate).
Value: the ultimate goal. In debate, this was used as an abstract concept - we want to achieve "justice" or "morality", typically followed by a philosophical reasoning. But in terms of life philosophy, the value is anything we pursue for its own sake. Examples include happiness, equality, peace, or knowledge.* Essentially, these are things we cannot justify using further descriptors - these are the descriptors. As the ultimate building blocks of our lives, values are the ultimate thing(s) we strive for.
Criterion: the method through which we might achieve our values. In debate, this is often (again) some sort of philosophy, such as utilitarianism to maximize the amount of justice a policy might create. In life, the criterion might be pursuing money in order to achieve happiness (the value). Criterions can work towards different values. For example, pursuit of money might be a criterion towards happiness, but it also might be a criterion for being able to access more respect (a potential value). There are also stepping stone criterions. Money is a great example (again) because people often pursue money so they can pursue power so they can pursue happiness.
It's important to note that these things aren't exclusive. As intention-based framework, there's nothing differentiating money-as-value vs money-as-criterion except for the intention with which we place upon money. If someone is interested in having money purely for the sake of having money (extremely uncommon, because why have money if you couldn't spend it?) then money is a value.
I argue that people often lead unsatisfying lives because they 1) don't know what values they aim for or 2) believe that some criterions will fulfill values when they, in fact, do not. Both of these are related to misinformation about oneself.** The former is unsatisfying because there is a meandering about life, unable to determine direction without clear motivation. The latter is unsatisfying and, I believe, far more common. The former is to have lost one's sense of self, the latter one's sense of purpose.
*note that this is extremely intention-based framework.
** to be fair, it is also entirely possible to know one's values and the criterions that will satisfy them and still be unsatisfied with life, but knowing these alone gives agency towards solving dissatisfaction. It is also possible to not know one's values and unknowingly fulfill them, but again, agency is only enabled in knowingly fulfilling values.
