Moving to a new country is one of the most exciting and challenging experiences anyone can go through. For me, the UAE wasn’t just another country — it represented ambition, dreams, skyscrapers that kissed the clouds, and the promise of a better, faster, and more glamorous life. I arrived with stars in my eyes and endless checklists of things I wanted to achieve. But somewhere between the glittering lights of Dubai Marina and the heat of the desert sun, I started to feel like I was falling behind in life.
This is a story about that feeling, and how I’m learning to find my own pace in a world obsessed with speed.
The Constant Comparison Trap
One of the first things I noticed after moving to the UAE was how visibly successful people seemed to be. From luxury cars lined up outside cafes to influencers casually documenting their brunches at five-star hotels, it felt like everyone was living their best life. Social media didn’t help either. Every scroll through Instagram felt like a highlight reel of people my age achieving things I hadn’t even dreamed of yet.
Suddenly, the life I was proud of back home felt small and insignificant. I started comparing my job, my salary, my weekends, and even my friendships to those of people I barely knew. Every new success story I saw around me wasn’t inspiring — it was a reminder of everything I hadn’t done.
The Silent Pressure to Keep Up
The UAE is a place that moves fast. In business, in lifestyle, and in personal growth, there’s an unspoken expectation to keep evolving, upgrading, and leveling up. People switch jobs for higher salaries, move into better apartments, and chase new experiences at a pace that can be dizzying.
I found myself caught in this whirlwind, constantly questioning if I was doing enough. Was my job title impressive enough? Was my social circle glamorous enough? Was I saving enough money? The pressure wasn’t always external. Often, it was an inner voice whispering that I was falling behind, that time was slipping away, and that I needed to move faster.
Missing the Familiar Comfort of Home
Another reason I felt behind was because, for the first time, I was away from my usual support system. Back home, I knew the unspoken rules of success. I understood what milestones I was supposed to hit and when. Friends were always around to reassure me, to remind me that life wasn’t a race, and to share both wins and losses.
In the UAE, everything was new. Friendships were harder to form. Everyone seemed busy chasing their own version of success. And the loneliness that came with starting over made every setback feel heavier. Without familiar voices to comfort me, the feeling of being behind became louder.
Redefining What Success Really Means
After a few months of wrestling with these feelings, something inside me shifted. I realized that maybe the problem wasn’t the UAE, or the people, or the fast-paced lifestyle. Maybe the problem was how I was defining success.
Back home, success meant stability — a good job, a decent home, family close by. Here, it seemed to mean luxury, constant growth, and public recognition. But what if neither of those definitions fully captured what I truly wanted?
I started to ask myself some tough questions. What makes me feel genuinely content? What goals am I chasing because I truly desire them, and what am I pursuing because I think I should? Slowly, I began to disconnect from the comparisons and started focusing on my own version of a fulfilling life.
Small Wins Matter More Than Big Milestones
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in the UAE is that small wins are worth celebrating. It took courage to move to a new country, adjust to a different culture, and start a life from scratch. Getting through lonely days, building new friendships, and surviving moments of self-doubt — these are victories too.
We often wait for big, shiny milestones to feel proud of ourselves, but it’s the small, everyday triumphs that truly shape us. I started taking pride in things like finding a new coffee spot where the barista remembers my name, making a difficult work presentation go well, or finally learning to navigate the confusing streets of Abu Dhabi without Google Maps.
These small moments didn’t make the feelings of being behind disappear overnight, but they reminded me that I was moving forward in my own way.
Understanding That Everyone Feels This Way
The more I opened up to people around me, the more I realized how common this feeling is. Almost everyone I spoke to, from longtime expats to new arrivals, admitted to feeling like they were chasing something intangible. No one had it all figured out. The people I once envied for their picture-perfect lives had their own insecurities and fears.
It was strangely comforting to know that behind the curated social media feeds and confident conversations, everyone was carrying their own invisible struggles. We’re all, in some way, trying to find our footing in a city that doesn’t stop moving.
Learning to Slow Down
In a place like the UAE, slowing down feels countercultural. But I’ve come to believe it’s necessary. I started setting boundaries with my time, saying no to things that drained me, and making space for activities that brought me peace. Long walks by the beach, quiet evenings with a good book, and unhurried phone calls with family back home became my little acts of rebellion against a life that demanded constant motion.
I also started reminding myself that it’s okay to pause. Life isn’t a straight line, and moving slowly doesn’t mean you’re moving backwards. In fact, sometimes slowing down is what allows us to move in the right direction.
Focusing on Growth, Not Speed
I shifted my focus from how quickly I was achieving things to how deeply I was experiencing them. Was I learning from my job? Was I forming meaningful relationships? Was I taking care of my mental and physical health? These became my new measures of progress.
Success stopped being about reaching the next big thing and started being about how I felt in my everyday life. Some days I still struggle with the feeling of falling behind, but now I know it’s just a passing thought, not a permanent truth.
The Beauty of Being a Work in Progress
I’ve learned to embrace the fact that I am a work in progress. Moving to the UAE wasn’t supposed to be a shortcut to success. It was a chapter in my life story, with its own unique lessons and challenges. Every time I felt like I was behind, it was actually life nudging me to redefine what mattered most.
I don’t have everything figured out, and maybe I never will — and that’s okay. I’m learning, growing, and moving forward in ways that might not always be visible but are deeply valuable.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve moved to a fast-paced city like Dubai or Abu Dhabi and you’re feeling behind in life, know that you’re not alone. The pressure to keep up can be overwhelming, but your journey doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. Celebrate your small wins, embrace your setbacks, and remember that sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is move at your own pace.
Life in the UAE has taught me that falling behind isn’t a failure. It’s an opportunity to slow down, reassess, and carve out a path that feels true to who you are. And in a world obsessed with speed, that might just be the most powerful thing of all.
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