When was the last time you were not happy getting more marks?

When was the last time you were not happy getting more number of hits on your blog?

When was the last time you were not happy having more number of friends on facebook?

When was the last time you were not happy getting two chocolates than one?

When was the last time you were not happy you could do 10 push ups than 5?

When was the last time you were not happy getting more points while playing tetris?

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Those questions make my point pretty much. However, this is not just a number line with whole numbers only. We’re considering integers. As such,

When was the last time you were happy seeing your high hospital bill?

And as for that matter your electricity and telephone bills crossing a threshold?

When was the last time you were happy seeing millions had died in a catastrophe?

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We attach numbers to almost everything we do and the higher the value, the stronger our emotion regarding it is on the ‘happy-sad’ integer number axis. The questions I’ve written in the first part lie on the positive x-axis and as the numbers go up, it means we’re having more fun and enjoying our lives.

On the other hand, the questions in the second part lie on the negative x-axis and as the numbers go up, we get sadder. So our soul reacts to the events that take place around us depending on the numbers we have attached to it.

It might be alright if we just don’t take that for granted. There is the natural tendency of high numbers indicating strong emotions. But putting more thought into it is sure to give shades of gray too than just black and white.