Was there a clear guiding force, or did it just happen?
One guiding force for many is that once you have had a job in a restaurant, it is easy to find employment everywhere you go. An incredible opportunity landed in my lap while I was looking for a job in computers programming. All I had to do was say "yes" when a the only restaurant I applied at called me in to wash dishes one night. And the rest is my history, up until age 55. My father may have asked me when I was going to get a real job until then, too. I didn't live up to his expectations. Maybe a lot of these traps are because we are trying to live up to someone else's expectations.
This is what holds the status quo in place
AND what causes the status quo option range to become narrower and narrower, until we are essentially slaves.