Exactly. I did the powerlifting thing when I was mid 20s and eventually after some injuries I'm now training for aesthetics with some strength here and there. I don't even deadlift anymore.
It should be firstly about enjoyment and what I've come to realise in the past few years is longevity. All the guys my age I speak to talk about training with longevity in mind, so try to protect their joints/ligaments. After all, health and wellness should be at the core of training. I'd hate to be in my 40s with life long issues with my knees, shoulders, back etc etc. You hear about it all the time - can't be consistent if you can't train.
I swear every single person in my gym who I speak to has shoulder issues, has injured their back (one guy was in bed for 8 weeks after a deadlift gone wrong), knee, elbow at some point. Longevity is always in the back of my mind, pushing myself, but as safely as possible.
There was a guy in my gym squatting with terrible depth and form commenting on how he’s surprised I’m not squatting more. So I gave him a speech about form, longevity, sensible progression and that my max is indeed considerably more than his, but I don’t train at that weight every single day
(in the nicest possible way of course - I ended up spotting for him and giving him some tips eventually...at his request).
The two biggest errors I see is ego and skipping the gym for weeks, thinking their strength is the same and then making up for it with form that makes me cringe. Oh, and only working chest - so many guys I only ever see on a chest day. Leg day has actually become one of my favourite days now.