Ultimately everything comes down to this, if you, or hopefully at least one other person is happy you did it...then it wasn't a waste of time.
We're all going to die
No preference. Like so many other things it's not what is done, but how well it is done. The most popular fantasy novel of all time, Lord of the Rings has a very static goal. Destroy the ring.
What isn't static is all the forces around the goal. I think when a goal is static, it is alright if...