There is going to be an element where we are not succeeding. It's bad enough not getting what we want, but it's even worse to have an idea of what it is you want and find out at the end of a journey that it isn't, in fact, what you wanted all along.
最后这个表语从句使用了一般过去时，表示 “过去一直想要的东西”。此前整个段落使用现在时间范畴的时态，客观描述与现在相关的情况。两者并不矛盾。我随便举一个相似的例子：
Now I want to make up for what I lost in the past. 现在，我想弥补我过去失去的一切。
