Seeing Beyond People's Success

Seeing Beyond People's Success

A lot of famous athletes credit success to their hard work. 

You might have seen a lot of their interviews as well, right?

Have you ever wondered about other athletes who worked just as hard and didn't make it? 

Here is where "Survivorship Bias" skews our understanding.

Survivorship bias, a cognitive bias that distorts our perception of reality by focusing only on the survivors—the success stories—while overlooking the failures.

Imagine you're studying the success of entrepreneurs. 

You interview only those who have made it big—the ones who built multi-million dollar companies from scratch. 

But what about the countless others who tried and failed?

Survivorship bias blinds us to the full picture. We see the winners but miss the losers, leading us to draw faulty conclusions about what it takes to succeed.

So, how do we combat survivorship bias? 

By trying to look at the whole picture. Instead of fixating on success stories, examine both the successes and the failures. Learn from the mistakes as much as the triumphs.

Next time when you're tempted to follow in the footsteps of the successful few, recall the survivorship bias. 

Look beyond the winners and appreciate the lessons hidden in the losses. By doing so, you'll gain a more balanced perspective and increase your chances of success in the long run.