Make Room For Optimistic Criticism

It takes little to no imagination to come up with different ways that things will go wrong. You don't have to know much or have a thorough understanding of any part of our intricate world to point out all the different ways that we are collectively screwed in the future.

Every movie about the future shows how bad it will one day get.

In some movies, it is a mere 30 years from now. Others think it will take some time for the future to become a place no one wants to be.

Those horrible futures are all very much in the realm of possibility, no question.

But damn it, what would it take for someone to build a world where everything goes right? How exciting would it be to be alive to see that future come to pass?

The nihilism that seems to be the most common thing we all can agree on takes no courage, curiosity, or creativity to believe. It is simple, and anyone can do it. It is the lowest common denominator of "futurists" and "thought leaders."

And most importantly, it gets you to click on cleverly worded new ways that the world is doomed. Because those clicks get your attention, and your attention is the most valuable commodity in our ad-sponsored economy. Your curiosity about how ELSE we might be coming to the end of civilization, your base level thought, helps some platform promote some brand new way of selling a very old thing.

But what if we instead found a way to incentivize the attention of those speaking about how things might go right?

And I don't mean every one of your friends who decided to become content creators over the holidays and are using off-the-shelf thought leader formulas to get attention and share "that one thing that will change how your team works together in 2024."

I'm talking about the bold people and the brave minds looking at all of the incredible challenges that we face at this moment in time as a society and saying, "I see how it can all go right."

Where are those voices? What do they have to say about the year and decades ahead? How can we give more attention to their world-building ideas and futures? How can we be optimistic in our criticism of how things are today in service of and with enthusiasm for finding a better way?

It takes a lot of curiosity, imagination, and collaboration to be a part of things going right, and I hope you all will join me in seeking, finding, and sharing those big and bold ideas this year!

Happy 2024 - I hope you see how it can all go right for you and for us this year.