--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know why people feel unhappy when…" description: "\"“I don't know why people feel unhappy when the curve of a graph fails to keep going up, but they do. Even when we find something we'd like to reduce, s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/e-b-white-2-8829_people-feel_i-don-t-know-why-people-feel-unhappy-whe_2505501.jpg" --- # I don't know why people feel unhappy when the curve of a… ![“I don't know why people feel unhappy when the curve of a graph fails to keep going up, but they do. Even when we find something we'd like to reduce, such as highway fatalities, it doesn't always sound as though we had our heart in it.” quote by E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/e-b-white-2-8829_people-feel_i-don-t-know-why-people-feel-unhappy-whe_2505501.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/e-b-white-2-8829_people-feel_i-don-t-know-why-people-feel-unhappy-whe_2505501.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/e-b-white-2-8829_people-feel_i-don-t-know-why-people-feel-unhappy-whe_2505501.jpg) > ““I don't know why people feel unhappy when the curve of a graph fails to keep going up, but they do. Even when we find something we'd like to reduce, such as highway fatalities, it doesn't always sound as though we had our heart in it.”” [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often equate progress with upward trends, feeling disappointment when data plateaus, even on issues they care about. **In simple terms:** People dislike flat lines, even on important topics. Key Takeaway Accept that progress isn’t always linear. Themes expectations perception progress Mood frustrated reflective Type analytical motivational When to use this quote - health campaigns - traffic safety initiatives - environmental reports - business forecasts Key Concepts psychology statistics public policy Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay motivated when results stall? - What alternative metrics can reflect true impact? A Different Perspective Linear growth isn’t the only measure of success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“You'd think the sight of beautiful Place Vendôme would lift my spirits but oddly the arc of jewellery - so obviously beyond the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-turnbull/you-d-think-the-sight-of-beautiful-place-vend-me-would-lift-my/) [Sarah Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-turnbull/) > [If I feel unhappy, I do mathematics to become happy. 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White > [“In the loveliest town of all where the houses were white and high and the elm trees were green and higher than the houses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/in-the-loveliest-town-of-all-where-the-houses-were-white-and-high-and/) [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [“He was sad because his new friend was so bloodthirsty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/he-was-sad-because-his-new-friend-was-so-bloodthirsty/) [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [“On any person who desires such queer prizes, New York will bestow the gift of loneliness and the gift of privacy. It is this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/on-any-person-who-desires-such-queer-prizes-new-york-will-bestow-the/) [E.B. 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White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [“Most people believe almost anything they see in print.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/most-people-believe-almost-anything-they-see-in-print/) [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [“Remember that writing is translation, and the opus to be translated is yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/remember-that-writing-is-translation-and-the-opus-to-be-translated-is/) [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [“Just the minute another person is drawn into some one's life, there begin to arise undreamed-of complexities, and from such a simple beginning as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/just-the-minute-another-person-is-drawn-into-some-one-s-life-there/) [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [“Your essays spoke of beauty, of love, of light and darkness, of joy and sorrow, and of the goodness of life. 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White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [ “So I told \[the doctor\] about my hay fever, which used to rage just in summertime but now simmers the year round, and he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/so-i-told-the-doctor-about-my-hay-fever-which-used-to-rage-just-in/) [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [“You have been my friend," replied Charlotte, "That in itself is a tremendous thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/you-have-been-my-friend-replied-charlotte-that-in-itself-is-a/) [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) [Explore all 75 E.B. White quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) ## More People Feel quotes > [You can't force people to feel in a certain way, and the sooner you understand that,the better. I feel everything has its way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidharth-malhotra/you-can-t-force-people-to-feel-in-a-certain-way-and-the-sooner-you/) [Sidharth Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidharth-malhotra/) > [I don't know how people feel,that's the beauty of TV, is they can see us, but we can't see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/i-don-t-know-how-people-feel-that-s-the-beauty-of-tv-is-they-can-see/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [“People feel sorry for your pain, and pain just is. 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There's a happiness, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chandler/it-s-been-my-experience-he-continued-that-when-you-re-with-the-right/) [Elizabeth Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chandler/) > [Well I think that what we're seeing now is that the people feel like they, the people in Congress don't have their consent to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/well-i-think-that-what-we-re-seeing-now-is-that-the-people-feel-like/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [People who cannot feel punish those who do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/people-who-cannot-feel-punish-those-who-do/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [I wouldn't say it's a done deal yet, by any means. I think there are a lot of people who feel like their lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-wouldn-t-say-it-s-a-done-deal-yet-by-any-means-i-think-there-are-a/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [“Grief is lonely, no matter how many other people feel it. They are different, each one, because we’ve lost different people, different versions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-mcinerny-purmort/grief-is-lonely-no-matter-how-many-other-people-feel-it-they-are/) [Nora McInerny Purmort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-mcinerny-purmort/) > [When people feel like they are being spoken directly to, I do feel like... they'll do things like turn out in an off-year, mid-year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/when-people-feel-like-they-are-being-spoken-directly-to-i-do-feel/) [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-ocasio-cortez/) > [I have an instinct to want to be part of a group of people. I feel safe there. That's why I was in school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-linney/i-have-an-instinct-to-want-to-be-part-of-a-group-of-people-i-feel/) [Laura Linney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-linney/) > [You're going to figure it out, as you go. 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Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-v-gordon/) > [I want to express the feelings that everyone has felt at least once in music so i think people will feel/understand my song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-want-to-express-the-feelings-that-everyone-has-felt-at-least-once/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [Sometimes my faith becomes more sensitive to how people feel, as opposed to what needs to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-luke/sometimes-my-faith-becomes-more-sensitive-to-how-people-feel-as/) [Derek Luke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-luke/) Browse all 900 People Feel quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I don't know why people feel unhappy when the curve of a graph fails to keep going up, but they do. 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