Finding Happiness

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It is so easy to be ungrateful and negative. We often times lose focus of those things that are important in life and begin to complain and moan about all the things that are so wrong about our lives.

Take for example this opportunity myself and many other teachers have gotten to come to AD.
We have been put up in 5 star hotels, given free accommodations for the duration of our contracts and the money to furnish these apartments. Not to mention a pretty decent compensation package which by the way is tax free. It more than a lot of us would be receiving had we stayed in our respective home countries.
But of course there are people who, despite all these amazing things have managed to find things to complain about.
When we interviewed for these jobs, there was never a guarantee as to where we would be placed, there was the possibility of being placed in Abu Dhabi City or the Western region which is far out and pretty much all sand. It was a random process as to who ended up where. You pretty much had to cross your fingers and hope for the best.

I guess I can be considered amongst the luckier ones as I ended up in Khalifa City, a 20 minute ride from Abu Dhabi City. The apartments are beautiful and brand new.
I won't comment on the experiences of those who were placed in the Western region as I have not visited so I have no clue what these accommodations look like. I will just say that some people are not very happy.

Back to where I live. So, the apartment building itself is awesome (check out the pics). There will be a pool, fitness facility, Jacuzzi and a fifty percent discount to a golf club. It's a pretty sweet deal. Did I mention that it's free. Yep, no rent. We do pay utilities but I can live with that.

So yeah people have found something to complain about. Like not having enough natural light or a balcony or closets or enough space.
I get it, we are humans and we like things the way we like them but you know what, when you aren't paying for something you kinda don't have the right to complain.
We are here for 2 years, it's not permanent even if those 2 years look like forever. You can leave after your contract, heck some people leave even before the contract ends. Point is, it's temporary.

There are so many things to be grateful for and if you keep those things in mind, life doesn't look as bad as you think it does. It's all about your mindset.
I know I may not have everything I wanted when I got here. I have no clue what kind of teaching situation I will end up in, I'm praying and believing that God has picked the perfect place for me but that doesn't mean I will never have challenges but I just have to focus on the fact that I have this extraordinary opportunity and the time for the bad things to become good.

True happiness isn't about acquiring all the things you want and having things go exactly how you expect them to go. The truth of the matter is that there are no guarantees in life, nobody ever promised that life would be easy. It's about being grateful for what you already have and the opportunities that have been presented to you. The good days are to help you appreciate your life and the bad days teach you to be resilient.