Many young people focus on grand, world-changing goals as a way to build their ego and avoid addressing their own internal struggles. True impact comes after you've secured your own foundation first.
The feeling of being directionless early in your career stems from societal pressure to find a path too quickly. Instead of seeing it as failure, reframe it as the necessary exploration phase at the beginning of a long journey.
Young professionals should leverage their primary asset—abundant time—to gather a wide range of experiences. Older professionals trade on deep experience because they lack time; youth should do the opposite by exploring broadly.