There is a chapter in Thomas a Kempis' book The Imitation of Christ which is short and to the point. Though the language is a bit out dated, it applies so clearly to our time.
"When a man desires a thing too much, he at once becomes ill at ease. A proud and avaricious man never rests, whereas he who is poor and humble of heart lives in a world of peace. An unmortified man is quickly tempted and overcome in small, trifling evils; his spirit is weak, in a measure carnal and inclined to sensual things; he can hardly abstain from earthly desires. Hense it makes him sad to forego them; he is quick to anger if reproved. Yet if he satisfies his desires, remorse of conscience overwhelms him because he has followed his passions and they did not lead to the peace he sought.
"True peace of heart, then, is found in resisting passions, not in satisfying them. There is no peace in the carnal man, in the man given to vain attractions, but there is peace in the fervent and spiritual man."
We tend to think that freedom means being able to say, "Yes" to anything we want. The sooner we can satisfy our desires the better. It almost doesn't matter what desire it is.
We rarely stop to question whether it is a good desire or not.
True freedom is not the ability to say, "Yes" to every passing desire. It is the ability to say, "No" to those desires which are not good for us.
True peace then, is found in resisting passions, not in satisfying them.