Thank you for such a measured, thoughtful essay. The word that popped into my mind in reading it was “dedication.” To be authentic a person must be dedicated to something? I think obtaining that does provide a focal point around which the rest of a person’s life can form. Re. your previous essay, it could be marriage/family. Unfortunately, a person could also be dedicated to something not so good, like acquisitiveness. Perhaps ‘dedication to something other than personal aggrandizement’ would do it?