What are we willing to give up to keep what we have

Saw this question today and a sense of profoundness overcame me.

There are days I question what is it about Hawaii that I am perusing?

And there are days I wonder what is it about Houston that I am letting go?

What am I giving up and what am I getting? Do we always have to sacrifice one thing for another? I remember learning about the concept of "trade off" in college. Why do we always have to comprise, to trade off, to take less than what is possible? When we "trade" something "off" with another, is it that we take "less" for what we deserve or is it that we act according to reality?

Why do I feel "reality" sometimes is like a box that seems to confine me more than liberate me?
When we act "according to" reality, do we give up what we are suppose to go after?

What is it about what we have that we so desperately trying to hang on to?

Can anyone answer my questions?