The idea of knowing what you want to do with your life is overrated. A lot of people do a lot of different things and often don’t know what they’re going to do until the inspiration hits them. In the meantime, do things you like. Don’t make any big decisions without thinking about the implications. Try out new hobbies and activities and see if any of them feel like something you want to do more. Oftentimes one interest will drive you to a similar one.
Get a job if you need the basic stuff people need to survive. Preferably not a job that demands too much social masking if that sort of thing causes you anxiety. That may be hard to come by depending on your skill set though. You can look at people whose jobs you find interesting and ask them what they did to get there. But it may also just be a matter of finding a job you can tolerate so you’re able to do the things you enjoy when you’re not working.
Definitely don’t feel like you have to have done something “significant” already. A bunch of people don’t figure out what they want to do until their 30s or 40s or even later. Your brain won’t even finish developing for several more years. A big favor you can do for yourself is not have high expectations for what’s going to happen. Set a reasonable goal for yourself such as “discover five new things that interest you over the next five years.”
Try out some new activities that might be fun. Try to notice patterns of what types of things you enjoy. Do you enjoy being creative? Test out different mediums. Write, draw, learn to play an instrument, see what you like.
Talk to people who already do the stuff you might want to do. Ask them how they got started. Sometimes they can even help you get started. I had a guy give me a free soldering kit when I was in my early 20s because he was making cool stuff and I expressed an interest in the same.
I was depressed in my teenage years and I’m on the spectrum. I didn’t have the benefit of knowing I was on the spectrum, so you’ve got a leg up on understanding yourself more than I did. Not everybody on the spectrum experiences the same patterns, but my flavor lets me deep dive into topics of interest and learn a lot of specialized knowledge with hyper focus when I find something I’m really interested in. The beauty is there are likely hundreds of these topics to find interesting and pursue.
I started with a lot of digital stuff on computers like digital photography and graphic design and modding game content because it was cheaper and easier than buying and accruing a lot of physical materials for a new hobby.
If you’re looking for new friends or relationships, you can often meet interesting people while pursuing a hobby. Having something in common is a good starting point and provides easy topics of conversation. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself about it though.
I don’t like to exercise, so I’ve learned to trick myself into getting exercise unintentionally while doing something else that I do find interesting, such as going on walks to explore a neighborhood or playing a video game that involves physical activity like Dance Dance Revolution. If it’s too hot outside, find a large indoor area like a mall to walk around in. Maybe listen to podcasts or audiobooks while walking. There are a ton of free audiobooks available online, such as Llibrivox recordings.