The past few days have been intense in the UAE. If you feel on edge, you are not alone. Markets reacted sharply: the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market paused trading temporarily.

I saw a TikTok recently that genuinely made me stop scrolling. A girl was saying that a Rolex isn’t even that impressive in Dubai because there are “better” watches. I don’t know watches. I have an Apple watch that I'm more than happy with. That’s not the point. The point is this: even a Rolex isn’t enough anymore. If something that most people would consider a symbol of success can suddenly be labelled “average”, then what chance do the rest of us have of ever feeling like w