Recently, I was walking to the Chinese restaurant around the corner from my house. Along this walk I passed a couple walking with their little girl. While I was passing them the Father leaned over to this little girl and verbally scolded her and pointed his finger in her face. My first internal response was, “Whoah buddy, calm down… someone call child protective services because this guy must have a severe anger problem!”

In this quick moment something took place in my brain. I experienced something. Could this guy be a terrible and abusive person? Sure. Is it likely? Probably not. What took place internally? Psychologist call it the “Fundamental Attribution Error” (FAE).

Sometimes the word “Happy” can take on a few different meanings depending on the environment. This word can describe everything from your Disney vacation to your wedding day… from your kid hitting his first little league ball to the feeling you get when Starbucks still has cold brew… “Ah, Happy.”