Displacement

[from this post at thehomelessguy.net]

Say you want a particular thing and so you go out to get it. Well, you then find that before you can get that thing you want you have to get two other things. And so, you go after those two things, only to find out that to get those two things, you have to get four additional things. And the pursuit of the thing your really want continues to grow so that the more you try to get some thing, the distance between you and that thing grows. Yes, that distance was always there, it's just not apparent until you begin pursuing it.

Frustration sets in and you wonder if getting that thing is really worth all the effort.

Another issue is that, once you've done everything necessary to get the thing you want, either the thing has changed into something you don't want, or the requirements for obtaining the thing change on you.

Regardless of all I have, I lack so much more. And, the more I have, the more things I see I need.