reality v

"The price of getting what you want is getting what once you wanted."
-- Dream, in Sandman:Dream County, by Neil Gaiman.

This is so true. People always want something, and when they get what they want, they want something else.
It's not just about the greediness inherent in everyone, although that is a huge chunk of it. Everyone covets something. It might be a book, a fancy dress, an elegantly designed antique clock, that flashy sports car everyone's talking about, recognition, fame, wealth or even your neighbour's wife. It's always the coveting or wanting that motivates people to strive, but on the other hand, it's also this that makes people greedy and not be satisfied or treasure what they have.
Thus, when you get what you want, you want something else, and what you got became what once you wanted.

Looking at it from another point of view, specifically analyzing what 'price' really mean, the quote takes on a different meaning.
Suppose that you want something real bad. Suppose that something is a woman that you find attractive. You'd do all it takes to get her, to have her as your own and to love her and have her love you back. When you do get her, you find that what attracted you at first wasn't all that important. Or worse yet, you might find out that all that you've seen before was just a facade, an image she projected herself to be just because she wanted you.
Or, suppose that what you want is a car that you've seen and heard so much about. You think that it's the best for you and you strive to get one for yourself. When you finally did, you found that its fuel consumption is too much, the handling isn't as good as you thought it'll be or maybe you saw another car, a new model, in the market that seems so much better than the one you have.

You see, things are not always what it seems, and most people seriously do not understand what they actually want. That's why most of us just trudge along the sometimes muddy road of life looking for that something that might be buried under the mud that we all believe will make the road that much more easier or exciting to walk along. If we'd only look up long enough once in a while, we'll probably know that it really doesn't matter whether you find what you think you're looking for or not, the road is short enough as it is and it'll do you well to just walk along with your head up and eyes in front.

It's not always a happy ending when wishes come true. When you finally get what you've always wanted, you might be disappointed because it wasn't really what you want, or maybe it's not what you want anymore.