Coming Face to Face with the Fundamental Attribution Error
Last year I sold a start-up company that I founded and self-funded for more than a billion dollars. It was a tremendous success and something that I take immense pride in. That sale was the culmination of years of dedicated research combined with the blood, sweat, and tears that go into starting any new business. I have been founding and selling companies for years, and I learned lessons in every endeavor that directly contributed to this ten-figure sale. An absurd amount of work went into that project. It was absolutely exhausting, and the hard work I put in made success that much sweeter. Since that success, I have noticed an interesting phenomenon - a lot of the people I encounter want to believe that my success was a fluke.
In psychology there is something called the Fundamental Attribution Error that describes how people perceive one another vs. how we perceive ourselves. When it comes to self-perception, we are very forgiving. For example, if I snap at a cashier I may feel bad, but I will also have a dozen reasons why. I was running late, I didn’t sleep well last night, that cashier said something rude to me and I was just responding...whatever the reason I am pretty damn likely to let myself off the hook. In contrast, if I witness someone in line in front of me snap at a cashier, I immediately assume that guy is a jerk. I don’t even consider that he may have slept poorly or been in a rush. I attribute my poor behavior to external influences, and his behavior to his character.
I think the phenomenon I have been experiencing lately is very similar. People do not want to attribute my success to the incredible amount of work I put in. They want to believe that I was just lucky. No one wants to hear about my sleepless nights, 100-hour work weeks, or the time I was afraid I would lose the house my wife and children called home. They want to take my success at face value and refuse to look any deeper. Ever since that sale I seem to be surrounded by a chorus of “it must be nice,” and “lucky bastard.” As the recipient of these snap judgements, it is very unsettling and far from the truth of the situation.
Success is rarely easy to come by, so the next time you find yourself dismissing an accomplishment as luck or assuming that someone successful has never had to work hard, push through that assumption and try to see the determination, dedication, and grit behind it. If you can effectively shift your view in that way, it will become gloriously clear to you that hard work and dedication can lead you to success also. Don’t be dismissive. See an accomplishment for what went into it, and go after your own goals with the same vigor. You can do it.