2017 was a fulfilling year. As I mentioned in my November newsletter, I have now settled into a more convenient pace for articles, stories here, this frequency allows me to research, discuss, find connections and write articles without feeling rushed. One such article that I took time to write, create illustrations, info-graphics was about Personality Inventories and I am glad it was well received. There were two My Zen Path exclusive articles in this year, and both of them feature in the top 5 here. Based on the highest number of readership, we have top 5 articles on 2017 on My Zen Path.
The top-most read article of 2017 was How to chose your career – this is not surprising because it really went viral on Facebook and I even got it as a forward from couple of sources. I think it was quite timely and apt for many 10th and 12th standard students who are understandably confused at the crossroads while choosing their career. I believe some of the methods there could be useful for others considering career transitions as well.
So here are top 5 articles, stories of 2017 along with some comments and excerpts from each one of them.
1. How to choose your career?
It is that time of the year in India where teenagers would be bombarded with this question from various directions –
So, what are you planning to do after your 10th or 12th?
It invariably starts discussion about ‘What’s in demand’, ‘Which has better scope/prospectus‘ and so on. There are very few teenagers who actually figure out what career they would like to pursue in their life, and rest of them simply choose arts, commerce, science if they are in 10th or engineering, law, medicine, architecture etc. if they are in 12th (PUC). This choice of their field of study is seldom based on what they are planning to do ahead in their life. Read more… (May 2017)
2. Personality Inventories
As I have been told, this is one of the most useful articles on My Zen Path and it also has high rank on search engines for search on: MBTI, Big Five and 16 PF personality inventories. I have listed these 3 inventories here along with their features, limitations and my insights about them.
I personally believe that personality inventories are excellent tools that offer you valuable insights about your own personality. They could be immensely useful if used constructively in career planning or achieving life goals including harmony in professional and personal relationships. Read more… (Jan 2017)
3. The dancing healer
Thais Pires De Andrade is an interesting lady from Brazil – she first visited India in 2011 and her love for India kept her coming back here. She has been extremely passionate about whatever she did since her young age, though it took a while for her to define what was this passion when she was younger because her choices were way too unconventional, especially for the western world view. As of today she is a healer and wants to work for women’s causes!
This is yet another My Zen Path exclusive story of a bohemian lady who decided to follow her heart and is walking on her own Zen path, or rather she is dancing on it! 🙂 Read more… (March 2017)
4. Grit – why it matters more?
I had mentioned in the last article What keeps you going? that sustaining efforts despite prolonged period of adversity is another story – it is more about Resilience; and then there is Grit. While Resilience means bouncing back stronger after a setback, grit suggests passion and perseverance for long-term goals.
Angela Lee Duckworth is a psychologist (Ph.D.) at the University of Pennsylvania. She studies intangible concepts such as self-control and grit to determine how they might predict both academic and professional success. Read more… (April 2017)
5. She left her corporate job and started a health food startup
It is heartening to see this story getting featured in Top 5 of 2017 since I published it in late Nov 2017 and as such it didn’t have much time to accumulate views, readership. This was yet another My Zen Path exclusive story, and Shilpa was quite sweet to record an exclusive video for the readers of My Zen Path.
Shilpa has always been passionate about fitness and nutrition, she has found her own purpose in creating products that are close to her heart, lifestyle and reflect the values that she holds dearly. After all, when your work is closely related to you passion, something magical is bound to happen. 🙂 Read more… (Nov 2017)
Beyond numbers…
Interestingly, the article The Puzzle Of Personality and first My Zen Path exclusive story Honey, I saved the bees! featuring Amit Godse also were part of top articles in 2017, but since both these were featured in Top 5 articles of 2016, I have excluded them. Though it is nice to know that they still keep attracting readers.
Do let me which is your favourite article of 2017 and your own reasons for loving it. Wishing you all a happy, fulfilling and purposeful 2018 ahead!
About the featured image:
The featured image for this article is a free wallpaper from QuoteFancy and it features a quote by Rumi and I am using it here with gratitude since goes quite well with the central theme of My Zen Path.
