That's not actually wrong, but I think it's highly misleading.
The failure mode in the long case that corresponds to "stock price suddenly skyrockets" in the short case is that the value of whatever currency you bought the stock with suddenly skyrockets relative to other assets. This (1) is extremely rare, corresponding to a very large negative inflation rate, and (2) is generally something you would be happy about overall because you surely have a lot more dollars (or whatever) than you are spending on the stock.
On the other hand, it's not nearly so unusual for the price of a stock to increase abruptly, and if you're shorting it you probably don't have a lot more of it to be happy about the increasing value of. (If you did, you'd just be selling rather than shorting.)
The failure mode in the long case that corresponds to "stock price suddenly skyrockets" in the short case is that the value of whatever currency you bought the stock with suddenly skyrockets relative to other assets.
Um, does this ever happen? Ever? It looks like an imaginary situation.
Besides, your description implies that you don't want to measure your wealth in money. What do you want to measure it in?
This thread is for asking any questions that might seem obvious, tangential, silly or what-have-you. Don't be shy, everyone has holes in their knowledge, though the fewer and the smaller we can make them, the better.
Please be respectful of other people's admitting ignorance and don't mock them for it, as they're doing a noble thing.