The Different Seasons Of My Life

I feel like growing up in Saudi Arabia and doing my undergrad in Montreal was just the beginning of my life. 

The prelude. 

The real stuff started after graduation.

This is when I made my first conscious and reflective choice, to write a new year's resolution for the first time. 

Then for the first time,

I started to design the life that I want to live. 

That period was perhaps the most stressful and challenging. 

Not in terms of work because I wasn’t doing much, but in terms of overthinking, fear, and uncertainty. 

A lot has happened since then, and I wanted to break it down into different seasons. 

Because when I started seeing my life in chunks, in phases, in seasons…

It put things in perspective,

It helped me learn faster, 

  And it took away the stress of wondering if I’m on the right path. 

Then a lot of the overthinking, the fear, and uncertainty disappeared. 

I realized that there’s a different purpose for every season. 

The beginning is always extra confusing and challenging, but with constant planning and a bit of doing, things can change very quickly.

I also love documenting every season.  

I have different photo albums, music playlists, Google Docs, journals, and audio recordings for each one. 

Doing stuff like this helps me appreciate the current season of my life more, and learn faster. 

I also can’t imagine how cool it will be to look at these years down the line. 

Everyone is on their own journey with their different seasons. 

All of them are important as we continue to become who we’re meant to be. 

I’m currently in Season 8. 

Things are the most fun, the most clear, the most exciting, and the most productive they’ve ever been. 

But these are all based on my earlier foundations. 

And I know that at some point, things will take a dive. 

That’s just the cycle of life. 

And I’ve been learning how to respect it. 

Season 1 - Unemployment & Uncertainty

I was a bit ashamed of myself for not finding a job after university. 

I stuttered and bombed every interview, and I didn’t even like Finance at all. 

Then I ended up in a situation you hear about all the time. 

Mom’s basement, video games, unemployed, and just slowly disintegrating. 

This kept up for a year. 

I felt like I completely wasted a year of my life, but in a way, it was all part of the build up. 

Because if things weren’t bad, then I wouldn’t want to change them. 

Some people go through shorter slumps, and many go through longer ones. 

The most important thing is that eventually, I wanted to change something. 

And I read that going to the gym improves confidence, and I needed some of that badly. 

It’s great for beginners because you can see growth very fast, especially if you’re a skinny twig, and the endorphins after a workout feel amazing. 

This was the kickstart I needed, because it led to every other positive change. 

The most important of them all, was journaling. 

Season 2 - Taking Small Chances

After I started writing, it made me realize how much there was to reflect on in a single day. 

I became more aware of myself, and I started to plan things out. 

I felt like whatever I wrote down, I had to do it. 

It was a promise to myself. 

Then for the first time in my life, I started seeing tangible progress. 

I was seeing results from all of my efforts to improve my life. 

Gym, Diet, Sleep, Meditation, Yoga. 

Learning how to meet people. 

Trying new things out. 

Everything was new to me, so it was all refreshing. 

The activation energy required to just start new things was reached, 

and the positive energy I received from each activity carried the momentum forward. 

It was during this time where I also stopped blindly applying to jobs. 

I never heard back from them so I knew I was doing something wrong. 

Instead, I found opportunities at smaller firms and made direct phone calls. 

This led to my first job. 

I put my head down and worked.

I continued meeting new people.

I continued exploring my hobbies. 

I continued writing, reflecting and planning. 

The commute was 1.5 hours each way, and I used that time to listen to audiobooks. 

Most of the time after work, I would go to downtown Toronto despite the insane traffic, and go to a networking event or meet someone at a coffee shop.  

And every single time it was awkward. 

But every single time, I met at least one new person and I got a bit better at the process. 

The process of asking people to meet me, to plan for a meeting, to be present during one, to ask the right questions, to develop my social skills, to reflect on what I learned, to follow up with each person etc. 

This was the first time where I started to enjoy the process. 

I had a vision of where I wanted to go (kinda) and where I wanted to work. 

I knew the stuff I did everyday was getting me closer, and because there was growth, I was happy.

Season 3 - Dream Accompished?

Eventually, I kept that up for about 1.5 years. 

The growth in my social skills, and in my own confidence was exponential. 

I’m pretty sure this was because of the writing and planning I did every day.  

I learned faster, I appreciated what I was doing more, and it gave me clarity. 

Then I got a call from the company that I really, really wanted to work at. 

They rejected me over 2 years ago, but this time I was prepared. 

My time came. 

And when I received that offer, the biggest weight dropped off my shoulders.

I started the job with a lot of energy and I was trying to meet as many people as I could. 

But I quickly realized that maybe I don’t belong in a corporate culture. 

People were a bit hesitant to express themselves, there was a lot of small talk, too many cliques etc. You know what I’m talking about. 

But I still loved to work there. I loved going to downtown Toronto. I loved doing all of my hobbies with less restrictions, going to new gyms, places to eat, and meeting people freely. 

And I was finding my own path at work and doing things differently. 

Some people didn’t like it, but I loved it and that’s all that matters. 

This season was all about progress, excitement and opportunity. 

I was seeing the fruits of my labour, and because I worked hard to get, it felt surreal. 

But while I was enjoying my life, my dad was going through the most critical period of his life.

Season 4 - Construction: The Opportunity of a Lifetime

I wrote another blog post on this, but long story short: 

• I started helping my dad with the construction of a hotel, 

• After a few months, I was burning out and it affected my mental state at work, so they fired me. 

• Then I was able to dedicate all of my time for the next 1.5 years until it was built, 

• And COVID hit a few weeks before opening. 

I realized that the life I was living before was a joke compared to what some people go through. 

I had everything so easy, and when I saw what my dad was going through, it changed my perspective forever. 

This season was about Family, Sacrifice, Responsibility, and Real Work.

Season 5 - COVID: Reset

This was such a strange time. 

After nearly two years of intense work, I went to days of complete silence and solitude. 

We had to stay home, we couldn’t meet people, and there was no real purpose of ‘work’ as everything was shut down. 

So I used this time to reflect, relax, and re-balance myself. 

After getting my Health sorted, I focused on my future because I didn’t want to waste my time. 

I realized that I had to develop my personal brand, and my creativity was strongly needed for the Hotel’s future as it had to open during a pandemic. 

These two areas took a huge amount of energy.

The Hotel was stressful. 

I had to learn how to manage politics, I had to improve my presentation in every aspect, I had to vastly increase my knowledge of Hospitality, and I had to bring real value to the business. 

But I got there with the help of others. 

It was as simple as documenting things, asking people for help, and reflecting on my meetings. 

I used LinkedIn to connect with an entire world of Hospitality experts. 

I started to step up for the Hotel once again, and help guide it past a pandemic. 

At the same time, I also dove deep into my Creativity and started this journey of content creation and branding. 

I am so glad that part is over. 

It is the most confusing shit ever. 

There were a lot of blank pages, trial and error, and cringey moments. 

But it brought me to where I am today, and on the path to where I’m going. 

I also fell deeply in love, and had my first long-term relationship. 

So this period started off as confusing, had many moments of stress and uncertainty, but ended peacefully. 

Everything nowadays is fast again, so I really miss those peaceful times. 

Season 6 - A Swiss Journey

I made the decision to take a Masters program in Hospitality. 

I didn’t want to leave home, my family, the hotel, or my girlfriend. 

But there was a very unique opportunity to get a Masters in one year, with three of the best universities in three different continents, while the world was in a recession. 

So I packed my bags, said goodbye, and moved to Switzerland for four months. 

I was grateful for this experience because it reminded me how much home and family meant to me. 

I had a lot of alone time to reflect on where I wanted to go in the future. 

I also learned more about teamwork and leadership during this period. 

So this period was about exploration. It was confusing for the most part, but at the end I found clarity. 

I was a different person when I came home after three months. 

I had more appreciation for time and for family. 

I was also much more productive with my work, because things were more clear. 

Season 7 - Endless Summer

This was the best summer of my life. 

I had three months back home before the start of the next semester.

The first month was just about sorting my Health again, and spending time with my loved ones. 

I completely fell off track on this, so it took a few weeks to get back into it.

After that, I had a deep conversation with my Dad to talk about my future. 

I was really into growing my online brand, presenting, coaching etc. but to be honest this was all side stuff. 

I had such an incredible opportunity at my hands, to accept what my dad built for 60 years, and take his legacy and Hotel to another level. 

I decided that I had to know everything about owning and managing Hotels. 

I dove deep into the Financial, Operational, Managerial, and Strategic aspects of our Hotel. 

I was networking and learning from people in the industry at every level. 

I reconnected with local and provincial organizations and found ways to work together and recover from the pandemic.  

And I documented the entire process. 

Then after Health, Family and Work, I was able to put time on my Brand. 

I can’t do this creative stuff without having those areas handled.  

LinkedIn wasn’t interesting to me anymore, and I realized that I had to make my foundation, which was this website. 

So I dedicated a lot of time and energy into it, and continued during my first month in Hong Kong. 

Season 8 - Expansion in Hong Kong

When I left for my first semester in Switzerland, I was in tears. 

But this time, things were much more clear and exciting. 

There was less confusion, less worry of being away from home, and I knew that this trip would be an amazing opportunity:

• There’s so much to learn from a completely different culture.  

• I’m deeply immersed in the Hospitality world here, and applying everything I learn back to our Hotel at home.

• I have more alone time and solitude to work on my creative dreams (website and podcast) 

• And when I get back home, I’ll appreciate everything much more. 

This season has been about expansion and learning, and it’s just beginning.

Every season was distinct. 

Every season had growth in its own form. 

Every season was something I had to go through, to get to where I need to be. 

Some had more ups, and some had more downs.

But when I take a step back and a step above, then see how they fit into the bigger picture of my life, 

I just smile, I thank them, and I continue my journey.