Attitudes

I't s been one month since I've moved to the UK. The month has flown by and I can't recall a single day when I have not been busy. In terms of relocating to a new country, it has all gone quite well. It's been tedious, but thankfully there haven't been any major mishaps or problems -- it's just all been exhausting.

Last week I had movers bring some of my boxes and furniture from the storage unit to the house. I tell you, I am so tired of looking at boxes and dealing with trying to get rid of the packaging material. Then of course there's trying to figure out where to put stuff in the new house. It's coming together ... but boy has it been a lot of work.

Anyway.

I've survived my first month, and I am happy to say I have absolutely no regrets moving to London. It's so very different from Kuwait -- but I'm enjoying all the new changes.

I'm loving the fresh air, shopping for fresh protein and produce, and walking everywhere instead of always driving.

As I said, considering that I've moved to an entirely new continent/country/culture, it has all gone very well.

Celebrating my first month in England with a mini getaway to Oxford

One thing that I think has surprised a number of people - including myself - has been my attitude.

Despite the changes (and some of them have been big ones, particularly downsizing the house and simplifying our lifestyle to some extent), I've chosen to see only the positives. If I wanted to, I could spend each day lamenting over the things that I don't have anymore, the things that I'm not doing anymore, the people that I'm not seeing anymore ... it is so easy to get caught up in that type of cycle of negativity and depression. I think that if this move had happened 3 years ago, I would have been caught up in that kind of a funk.

I firmly believe that this positive attitude has transferred from the lessons I've learned in trying to live a healthier lifestyle.

Conceptually the general concept of living a healthy lifestyle is not difficult or complicated -- eat healthy food and exercise regularly.

However, to really succeed at it, you need to look at the details. You need to be patient through the trial and error process while figuring out what foods suit you best and what type of exercise will benefit you most. You need to accept the fact that you may be spending hours each week at the gym but the progress may not show until months later -- and despite that lack of instant gratification, you need to dig deep and believe that all the things you're doing will pay off in the end ... that what feels like a sacrifice now will be a rewarding experience later.

I feel like I have spent too many years of my life being sad, frustrated, and bitter (at myself, other people, the world). It was silly. However, I guess for my life experience, I had to go through that. I needed to go through the difficulties in order to find my strength ...

... and that really is the the biggest lesson/reward that has come through for me: the realization that I am strong - both physically and mentally. I still find it challenging to remember this, but having gone through so many different struggles in my life and surviving them, I know that I can get through anything. It may not be easy, it may not have a quick solution, but I have seen how dedication, patience, and hard work really does pay off.

It may seem like a silly correlation to make when I'm associating it with something as basic as moving house -- but I think that's the best part. I've learned such an important lesson and I can apply it to even the simplest thing. It really makes it all worthwhile.

I'm still working on myself. I'm still learning, still growing, still struggling ... the important thing right now is to continue to have a positive attitude and keep at working to reach my goals.