My most-viewed columns of 2019

Dec 21, 2019 Announcements, Sunny's random musings

Here we go. These were the 5 most popular articles I wrote in 2019. If you missed them, see below.

Some surprises here for me…

The 5th most-viewed article on www.sunwords.com was this one: Are you still sitting on your wallet? It was about the old-fashioned men’s leather wallet – the one we males sit on uncomfortably every day. Why is that still a thing? The wider premise was about all the other ‘butt-wallets’ we might still be hanging on to: the norms, superstitions and practices of bygone eras.

In 4th place: this piece about personal growth. If you live for the comparisons, you’re heading for a fall. There are many people smarter, prettier, wealthier and wiser than you out there. To endlessly compare yourself, to want to be like others, to play the game of mimicry is to be on a hiding to nothing. The comparisons will make you unhappy; and the copying just won’t work.

3rd most-viewed was a column for the youngsters: Institutions don’t educate you; you educate yourself. Take charge of your own education. An institution, no matter how good, is only a small part of the overall education that will happen to you in your life. Just how proportionately small depends on you. Make the rest of the equation bigger. Be curious; be open to inquiry; read widely; question deeply.

The runner-up: this article about not staying too long because it always ends badly. So many of us hang on to our jobs and roles in life for way too long, because we lack an evolution plan. Handovers and fadeaways are natural and necessary parts of a life of wisdom. Go before you are asked to, or before nature intervenes.

The winner! Just been promoted? Now stop dealing in excuses. This was a pointed lesson in leadership. Once you’re a senior honcho, stop making excuses! Real leaders take responsibility – whether it’s their fault or not. Whatever happens on your watch becomes your fault. If you’re happy in the junior corner, keep trading in excuses. If leadership is what you aspire to, start saying sorry and fixing things – as a habit.

There we are: the columns I wrote this year that were the most widely read. Thank you all for reading and commenting, and best of the season to you.