Why am I so critical of people who are trying to make an impact?

We live in a very strange time in human history. Collectively, we've started doing this thing where we criticize people who are trying to make an impact for not making enough of an impact. Or sometimes we just don't like they way they are making an impact.

Instead of supporting those contributors or even contributing ourselves, we've created a finger pointing, cancel culture that is skeptical of every move.

We look at Bill Gates and say he's not doing enough. He's one of the greatest philanthropists the world has ever seen and his foundation is saving millions of lives. He could be doing more we might say.

It's not just Bill Gates. He was the hot topic last week.

Dave Chappelle gets put through the grinder for telling jokes that point out racism, sexism, and hypocrisy because they can be offensive. Elon Musk is driving innovation in rocketry, solar energy and automobiles, but he smoked weed on a podcast. Greta Thunberg has hate and criticism thrown at her from every direction and she just keeps doing her thing. They could be doing more.

And here's the thing. I'm not finger pointing at the finger pointers. I get why they write and think those things. I do it myself. All the damn time. I see a non-profit or public benefit company, and my immediate reaction is to judge them. How effectively are they using their funds? Are they really interested in making a difference or just doing it for marketing purposes, I might ask on a rather feisty day.

I'm not saying that we can't be critical of people, ideas and methodologies that don't align with us. Critical thinking is how we get better innovation. Challenge the old way to make room for the new. But...

The step before critical can always be curious.

Instead of judging how non-profits might hypothetically use their funds or if a company is "mission driven" for marketing purposes, I can look it up and find actual answers. If I don't like what I find, I can ask a trusted friend if they see what I see. Curious first. Critical second.

Even if someone doesn't live up to our definition of perfect, which of course they never will, we can still be grateful that are making positive contributions to our society in their own unique way.

After getting curious about what is not being seen, if you still don't like the way they do it, great, go out and do it better.