Looking back… at the Other Side

In September 2023, I had posted my first article on LinkedIn that marked the beginning of the series “The Other Side by Aparna”. 11 months later, I am posting my 50th article – a fitting milestone for taking a look back at how it all started and an opportunity to share some analytics. On a rainy Monday morning in August last year as I looked out onto my little garden in the balcony sitting comfortably in my bean bag with a cup of steaming hot ginger tea in my hands, contemplating the next move in my career, my sister reminded me that I had been wanting to write for many years now and this was the right time to start.

With more than 25 years of professional, and many more years of personal experience behind me, she insisted that I should share my life’s journey with everyone. I decided to do just that but with a slight twist. I decided to look at everything that I had been through from a different lens, the less popular "other"?side and thus this series was born. During those initial days I was brimming with so many ideas that I spent entire days just writing my heart out.

The Other Side for me soon became like a journal which helped me release my pent-up thoughts & feelings. It was such a spiritually satisfying experience that all I wanted to do was keep on writing day & night and that’s exactly what I did. As I wrote, I posted – there was no schedule and no method to the madness up until November when my sister gifted me with my own website. She designed it for me, published all my articles there, and has been administering it for me since then. We then decided on a schedule – publish an article every Thursday on the website and repost it on LinkedIn the following Monday. She also suggested I start making videos which she helped me shoot and edit. So, for some time, we started alternating articles with videos. As my consultation projects have started gathering steam, I do not get time to shoot videos nowadays and the frequency of my articles has also gone down to once every two weeks. I may eventually publish one per month but I am definitely keen on continuing to write – for myself and my audience who love my articles.

I am immensely thankful to all of you who have reached out to me and told me about the impact my writing has had on your lives. Some of you could identify with my experiences and were aligned with my thought process. Some of you also told me that I am highly opinionated but that’s exactly the reason it’s the “other side” – it is about my side, it is about my opinions and it is the less popular side – the side that no one wants to talk openly about.

Among many other topics, the most prominent ones that I have written about are as follows:

The other side of Global Capability Centres especially from a cultural perspective when Service Providers actually tend to be much more agile. The overhyped but under delivered sense of customer centricity and the illusion of making you accountable but concentrating all the authority within the power centres. Overuse & misuse of the term “workplace toxicity” and the selfish motives of a certain class of people speaking up against a 70 hours work week. The easy route organizations take when dealing with ethical issues and inclusivity.

Apart from this, the hypocritical nature of society especially when they celebrate festivals to commemorate something highly auspicious and generate toxic waste in the process. The perils of being single in this two-faced world and facing the biggest hurdles in life from other women thus shattering the entire belief system of women empowerment. The predicament of being a leader in today’s polarized world where expectations of being a God like ethereal creature are offset by a demoniac image projected in reality. The ugly side of corporate politics and how integral it has become not just for our growth but for our very survival. ??

Then there is the other side of the rapidly spreading uncontained AI revolution that, much like the plasticization of the world, could rampantly change us into brain dead individuals with over dependence on technology & machines. The subtle yet very much visible discrimination against the older population, the perils of speaking up and the importance of perspective.

And then my personal life experiences which were an immense source of learning for me:

I introduced you to my mom, dad, siblings, dogs and even my alter ego,

I spoke about my adversities and how they always helped me grow.

I showed you my super powers, and told you about my OCDs,

I wrote about my passion for reading, and obsession with teas.

I took you along with me on a trip down memory lane,

I told you how forgiving and moving on can save you a lot of pain.

I hope my tryst with cooking and sports has inspired you in some way,

I know you know I lack those skills; I just sleep and dream and pray.

I crossed over just like that using my creativity as a guide,

And I found myself looking back at my other side.

By now you know my love for poetry and the obsession to make my sentences rhyme.

I composed quite a few in the last few months but “Who Can?” was from another time.

Some interesting analytics of the “Other Side” (including the original post + reposts if any) from the time it was published till 14th August 2024:

1.?“The Other Side of Being Single” published 8 months ago was the article with the highest number of impressions (7990) followed by “The Other Side of Reading” (6245) also published 8 months ago and “The Other Side of Moving & Moving on” (6086) published 7 months ago.

2.?“The Other Side of Being Single” received the highest number of “likes” (253) followed by “The Other Side of Moving & Moving on” (160) and “The Other Side of the Other Side” (137).

3.?“The Other Side of Being Single” got the highest number of comments (26) followed by “The Other Side of my Sports Life” (10) and “The Other Side of a Toxic Work Culture” (8).

4.?“The Other Side of a Toxic Work Culture” was reposted the highest number of times (5) followed by “The Other Side of a Support System” (4) and “The Other Side of Being Single”, “The Other Side of a Popular Interview Question”, “The Other Side of Community Dogs”, “The Other Side” and “The Other Side of Reading” (3).

So clearly, “The Other Side of Being Single” stands out as the most popular article that was seen & liked widely. That said, I will continue to write so keep watching this space for more.

I will see you soon on the other side ??.