not a real green dress 'cause that's cruel

I have recently been reminded that I have a propensity for wanting that which I cannot have. My only comfort is knowing that I’m not alone. It seems to be a trait of the entire human race. That made me wonder why we would have developed such an irritating, disheartening tendency.

I think wanting what we can’t have makes us strive to be better, to improve. If I can’t have it how I am, maybe if I work harder and change enough, I can attain what I want. Contentment leads to complacency. So what’s wrong with complacency? Do things really need to always get “better” or is the status quo good enough? We seem to always be seeking a way to make things better but is that really what we should be doing? Maybe what we have is as good as it’s going to get and anymore change would lead to regression.

This motivation backfires, however, when the thing I want is not good for me or if I can never have it, no matter how I change. At that point, the desire turns into a tendency for self-destructive behavior, in an attempt to satisfy the desire to have what I cannot have. It has even occasionally led me to choose the alternative which was clearly the inferior choice and to lose that which was good for me.

Am I an aberration and just not able to fully utilize this characteristic properly? Or does every one else get burned too? And will I ever be satisfied with what I have or am I doomed to a life of always feeling inadequate and wanting more?