“Content is a treasure that never fades,” Waheed said one morning as we were discussing developers’ career paths. He quoted the old Arabic proverb — Al qana‘a kanzon la yafna — and for a moment the room felt philosophical.
Nadia laughed and pointed at me. “If that’s true, then Fadi is the treasure itself.” She was joking about how content I always seem at work.
Another day, I walked into the office singing — badly, but confidently — and smiling at everyone I passed. One of my coworkers shook her head and said, “I envy you. You’re always happy.”
The truth is more complicated. Yes, I’m happy in my life. I’ve learned to hold my worries lightly, to live in the moment, and to squeeze the most joy out of everyday things. But when it comes to my career, I haven’t always felt the same way.
For years, I was responsible for the user interface of all the web applications developed at my workplace. My position sat in a strange grey area between web design and web development. I had solid graphic skills and strong technical skills — HTML, DHTML, CSS — but I was the only UI designer in a team of more than thirty developers. There wasn’t much room to grow on either side. I felt stuck.
Eventually, the realization hit me: if I wanted career progress in that environment, I had to shift. The decision came late, after years of hesitation, but at the start of this year I finally began training to become a programmer while still handling my UI responsibilities.
It was overwhelming at first. My workload doubled, sometimes tripled. But strangely enough, I enjoyed the challenge. My coworkers kept wondering how I managed to stay upbeat when most people my age were thinking of leaving the tech field altogether. Maybe it’s because I had already reached a point where the old path felt like a dead end. Choosing a new one gave me energy.
Still, programming isn’t my passion. I made the move out of necessity, not love. I read Who Moved My Cheese? and realized exactly what had happened to me — my cheese had moved, and standing still wasn’t going to bring it back. So I moved.
Now, I’m in an open, uncertain place. I don’t have a clear long-term plan for my career. IT isn’t really my thing, and reading and blogging have opened my eyes to so many other interests: psychology, philosophy, journalism, communication, art, history. I want a job where I can interact more with people, not just code behind a screen. Maybe a master’s degree is the next step, but I’m still figuring out which field would truly speak to me — and how to choose without erasing the years of experience I’ve built.
In the meantime, I’m finding joy in the small things. We celebrate our Nescafe breaks like they’re holidays. We joke about lunch options like they’re major life decisions. Sometimes we gossip. Sometimes we have a deep, philosophical 15-minute pause from reality. Work becomes lighter when you decide to enjoy it, and even lighter when you genuinely like the people around you.
On the side, I’m excited about the idea of opening an ice-cream shop with my best friend. Why not? Life is full of surprising paths.
There is always something to look forward to. So I’m choosing to take whatever chances come my way — and to enjoy the present moment while they unfold.
Fadi Zaghmout 
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