The title itself is thought provoking. Kudos for that.
This is making me refer back to the posts I wrote yesterday. Our ideas here are similar. You have however given me a different lance to examine purpose, meaning and motivation and how they are intertwined.

This line is what gave me that uh huh moment "I'd say it's why the meaningless pursuit of happiness renders any so-called happiness—if happiness is even found—fleeting and empty." This is so profound. The mistake we all make is believing that once we've attained this and bought that and got there that we'll be happy. But what's the purpose of us wanting to get there? What's the meaning of those goals to us?

If we keep chasing happiness, we are absent in the present and run by things that could have added meaning; that could have given us purpose. But we missed them ass we were running, chasing after happiness.