the good things in life

The good things in life. There are many of them. Women, sports, music, poetry, art, and the ability to think and act for oneself are just a few examples. How can we tell these are good things though? Is it the simple feeling that you get when you sense and/or construct these things, which we refer to as happiness or pleasure? Or is it something more? Sometimes happiness is only possible through suffering. This contradiction is puzzling but seems obvious to me as I have experienced the goodness that suffering can bring about. Take for example an athlete. You get the reward of the feeling of victory and the satisfaction of feeling appreciated after a big match but only because you worked hard through pain and suffering to do so. But is this even pure goodness if it required suffering to begin with? But how about artist? There is little to no physical pain attributed to the construction of art. But there is mental pain. The meticulous agitation that the pursuit of perfection carries is enough to drive some people off the deep end. But when it is all said and done, and the work is finished, there is no better feeling then being able to relish in your own expression of art. That same theory of the necessity of suffering makes the idea of happiness seem artificial.
Whatever the case may be, I feel as though true happiness is rooted in the ability to transcend obligation. But even this requires suffering as we are bound by nature to laws out of our control (food, water, clothing, shelter)