Ever heard of the Fundamental Attribution Error? It's that little inner voice that tells you that when others do things it's because they have personalities that drive them toward that behavior, but when you do things it's due to situational necessities.

Bob was angry? Well, of course he was. He is an unhappy grump of a man. I was angry? Well, of course I was. It was a tough day.

This sort of cognitive bias makes self-criticism difficult. It is the bugbear that says to you, "He just wants to irritate me!" and "Why's he so mad?  I didn't do it on purpose!."

I don't have any great insight to offer here. It's just something that's on my mind lately. It's worth keeping our biases on the top of our minds lest we forget that we are not always the protagonist in other's minds and those we see as our antagonist's do not often see themselves in that same light.

Approach the world with a little humility and watch the difference it makes.

• Defying Gravity (shoeshrink.com)
• Fundamental Attribution Error and Progressive Economic Policies (themoderatevoice.com)