By Ghadeer Ghloum
KUWAIT: Kuwait is a country that is recognized for its luxury lifestyle. It is a place where people can enjoy a high standard of living, and this luxurious lifestyle has been found to contribute to saving time and energy. Some people see this advantage can lead to increased productivity, whereas other see that it can lead to the exact opposite. To look at both opinions, Kuwait Times interviewed life coach Siham Al-Omar and physical trainer and life coach Zainab.
Omar sees that when people are comfortable in their daily lives, they tend to be more productive, as they have fewer distractions and are motivated to maintain their lifestyle. Additionally, engaging in leisure activities, such as visiting luxurious malls and spas, can take part in reducing stress and anxiety, which can enhance individuals’ productivity and creativity.
"Providing services should contribute to increasing an individual’s contribution and productivity, and not the opposite. Because the ease and availability of services lead to an ease of living, and therefore lead to saving effort and time, which are supposed to be invested and utilized in self-development and serving society. Thus, Kuwaiti youth have a lot of potential and creative energies represented in volunteer teams and personal initiatives to serve society,” she said. According to Omar, multiple services in Kuwait lead to less time spent at work and more time for personal productivity.
Blind spots of living in luxury
However, due to Kuwait’s easygoing life and multiple services, some people accuse residents of Kuwait as dependent on luxury benefits, lazy and unproductive. This raises concerns, as it not only affects the individual, but also the society as a whole. One of the primary reasons that luxury living in Kuwait causes people to become lazy is that it provides them with a sense of security. People who receive luxury benefits for an extended period may begin to take this advantage for granted, which encourages them to become more reliant on the government. As a result, they may begin to rely on the state for everything, including their basic needs, which can lead to a sense of helplessness.
Contrary to Omar’s opinion, Zainab said: "People who are dependent on luxury living may not have the motivation to improve their situation. This leads to failure or difficulty in various aspects of their lives, because luxurious living may also discourage personal responsibility. When individuals are not required to work and earn their livelihood, they may not develop a sense of responsibility for their own life outcomes. This can lead to a lack of motivation.”
Therefore, it is essential to balance the support provided by the government with a focus on personal responsibility and empowerment. "When individuals receive luxury benefits, they may become less motivated to work and earn their income. This can lead to a lack of drive and ambition, ultimately hindering the individual’s ability to produce at their full potential,” said Zainab. While luxury programs can be a vital support system for individuals, they can also have negative effects on productivity and creativity. Thus, it is crucial to consider the unintended consequences of living in luxury and start working towards creating policies that empower oneself to achieve one’s potential.
According to Zainab, there are several ways to overcome laziness, such as setting specific goals and deadlines to achieve these goals, creating a routine that would put order and reason in one’s daily activities, and most importantly, exercising, because the easy lifestyle and multiple services in Kuwait prevents people from moving their bodies. Exercising can help boost energy and improve productivity and creative thinking ability. Exercising does not have to be very hard; going for a brisk walk for half an hour can help boost motivation.