There are many things that can be distractions for us as we move towards satisfaction. The Buddha identified four pairs in particular which everyone will have to encounter: gain and loss; fame and obscurity; pleasure and pain; praise and blame.
If we place our emotional well-being within any of these four categories, we can expect to suffer. The reason that attachment to worldly conditions leads to suffering is because they are constantly changing and not under our control.
Thankfully, it is possible to be happy even in the the midst of such change as long as we are no longer tethered to the ups and downs. If we are willing to observe the ups and downs instead of getting lost in them, we can see that because of their impermanence, they can never bring us satisfaction.
To be happy, we need to observe what is happening now and, if the tendency arises to grasp into the past or the future for more or less of any particular experience, to again direct the mind back to the present moment. Over time it will become clear that the happiness that comes from our ability to be mindful is the worthiest goal of all.