Lifestyle defined

The broader sense of the word “lifestyle” pays attention to the way a person lives; a congregation of behaviors that makes sense to both you and others given your culture, geographic location and time appropriateness. Your social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress all play a part in lifestyles reflecting your individual attitudes, values or worldview. Lifestyles are a mixture of habits, conventional ways of doing things, and reasonable actions creating a self identity and cultural symbols for individual personalities.

When you think about lifestyle changes ask yourself two all-encompassing questions:

Would you continue doing what you do if you weren’t getting paid?

Would you continue doing what you do if it no one else was doing it?

If the answer to either of these is “no” then it’s time to start paying attention to finding what it is you consider enjoyable and meaningful. What gets you jazzed and humming a little tune? The opposite of happiness isn’t sadness or depression, its boredom.

Now, define your ideal lifestyle. Get a notebook and write it down if you like (go ahead, I’ll wait).

Answer this.

What does your ideal lifestyle look like? What does it sound like? How does it feel?

Are you waking up early to meditate and plan how to bring world peace? Will you be spending your days helping the impoverished in third world countries? Are you sitting by a pool with a laptop writing the next best-seller? Do you have enough money to enjoy your new life abroad in beautiful surroundings? Or is it simply not being bored with what you’re currently doing? That’s perfectly, undeniably, acceptable.

The key to change is having a crisp, bright, colorful picture of the change you desire. Just as with a roadmap…unless you know where it is you’re going, how will you ever reach your destination? Define your lifestyle or it will define you.

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