When Goals Remain Out of Reach

In the past week, Mike's been on a setting goals/self-improvement kick. For a long time he's been trying to figure out what he really wants to be and accomplish in his life. I'm really proud of the drive he's found in recent days (part of it is the prednisone he's on for graft-versus-host symptoms, but still....) and I know he can absolutely accomplish the goals he is setting for himself.
On that note, it got me thinking about my own goals for my life. Ever since I got married, and even for a long time before, my future goal was simple: I wanted to be a mom. For many women that's a relatively simple and easily achievable goal, so much in fact that they probably don't even think of it as a goal, but as more of an expected and routine part of their young lives. For me though, it's getting to feel like a goal that could potentially go unfulfilled. I'm a positive person, and I truly believe that one way or another, I will be a mother. But do I see it as an expected and routine part of my future? Not anymore.
So much of this dream remains out of my control (and as Mike would confirm, I can be a bit of a control freak with certain things!). I've done two IVF cycles, and have come up empty. The second time I even added acupuncture to increase my odds, but still no luck. When we're ready to try again, I could increase my exercise, change my diet, get more rest, even try a different fertility clinic. But does that mean I'll achieve my goal? Nope.
Trying to conceive is a different kind of goal when you’re faced with infertility. It’s not like setting a goal to finish college or get a certain career or lose 20 pounds or see Australia. It's the kind of dream that means no matter how hard you try, how much time you devote to it or how much persistence you bring, it still might not come true. It’s a dream with such frustration because you know that you can only do so much. Plus, there’s a very real and undeniable time crunch attached to this goal. This isn’t something one can put off until they're 50.
This was supposed to be a simple goal, so why does it seem so out of reach?