What I have observed is that the craving or lust for something has a certain familiar pleasure in itself despite it being known to be out of our reach. For example, denying oneself something that one would consider as a pleasure can bring a type of pleasure through suffering itself. Lingering on that sense of denial or suffering produced by the craving/lust can become familiar, like a habit, as if the denial and suffering provides a sense of ‘self’ or even a continued value in life e.g. “maybe today I will get the X of my dreams”. We may feel that the continued struggle and the suffering that accompanies it has more value than being content with what little we already have.