Lifestyle is a general description of people’s attitudes, interests, customs, and behavioral orientations. The word was first introduced by Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler in his famous book, The Case of Miss R. with the simple meaning of “the guiding principles of a person”. In more recent years, it has been used to describe the patterns of behavior that are shared across many different individuals and cultural groups.
The theories of behavioral theory suggest that everyone shares a set of core values and attitudes about what is good and bad. These are called the fundamental attitudes or basic beliefs. Adler believed that these would be the patterns that people followed in their everyday lives and that the variation in these patterns were the result of the influence of various social, economic, and psychological factors such as the environment, the family, and other individuals. He also believed that personality, experience, and motivation were deeply interlinked and that the differences between people resulted from the differences in these core beliefs. These differences were referred to as Lifestyle.
Most Lifestyle theories concentrate on the four elements of Lifestyle: the physical surroundings, the social environment, the individual, and the unique gifts of nature or human resources. Most cultures around the world share a common set of tangible factors that contribute to the patterns of their lifestyles, which are referred to as Accompanying Beliefs. These may include traditional values, norms, and practices that guide their social interactions and the way they relate to the environment. Some of these elements, such as gender roles, have been strongly influenced by Accompanying Beliefs and have even been considered necessary conditions for a healthy lifestyle.
Accompanying beliefs are also considered to be social media content that shape a person’s identity and values. Many social media users, especially young adults and Gen Z students, value social media content such as status updates, photos, videos, and music so much that they have begun to refer to these elements as Lifestyle Content. In fact, Lifestyle Content may be the most powerful lifestyle content available. The wolfe blog, for example, was created by an 18 year old university student who is very passionate about the environment, sustainability, and evolution.
Accompanying beliefs are usually described in terms of behaviors. These behaviors are then paired with characteristics of habit or characteristic mannerisms. For example, the adler’s cycle is characterized by a series of action cycles where decisions are made, information is processed, the desired outcome is reached, and another cycle of decision-making begins again. Each cycle is characterized by at least one factor such as purpose, opportunity, results, feedback, or a combination of factors. Accompanying beliefs and actions are then linked by the goal of reaching the desired outcome. The goal, however, is not specified, and the focus is instead on how a user would make his or her own decision given the set of circumstances.
There are many other examples of Lifestyle Content that Knoll users have shared. A few of the most popular include “The Art of Planning” (a book that is used at the Florence Knoll), “The Big Book of Life” (an e-book used at the Big Idea Institute), and “The Four Hour Workweek” (a daily ritual designed by Jon Katzenbach and Michael Allen). The curated sites also included “The New York Times Bestseller” lists for brands, “Most Read” lists, and “Rankings” lists, including “The New York Times” and “The Wall Street Journal.” The trend that Lifestyle Content is currently taking hold of is likely to continue, as more people are realizing that it is possible to create meaningful, valuable content while taking a stand on what is important to the lifestyle and wellbeing of others.
