If I want to describe what the lifestyle is, I do not have a dictionary, but I have a thesaurus in my word processor, so that will have to suffice. Also, this is how I perceive a lifestyle according to my own lifestyle, and I will try to be as objective about it as possible. I think that a lifestyle is what you are, what makes you into the person you are. The words available in my thesaurus is; existence, routine, life, regime, way of life, standard of living, daily life and means.
If I had to choose one of those words, I would choose way of life and standard of living. Because your way of life describes your lifestyle perfectly. So, it describes the way you live, or how you live you live your life. Your standard of living affects how you perceive the people around you. And because of your standard of living, you will judge people accordingly. It also affects your perception of life in general and your way of thinking. Your standard of living also affects your perception of right and wrong.
So, what you consider as right could be considered wrong by other people. So, if you have a lifestyle where you have a job working in the corporate system, and you go to work from seven to five every day to support your family, then for you, this is the right thing to do. For you, it is right to own a luxury house and a fancy car, to have four children at school and a wife also working to support your finances, then for you, which is the right thing to do. If other people don’t live according to your perceptions of what is right and wrong, then for you, it is wrong. Even though other people feel differently, and they live differently to your standard of living, and their lifestyle agrees with them that it is right for them to live like that, they think that your way of living is wrong. But neither is right nor wrong, it’s all about each person’s perception.
So, each person has its own lifestyle, or standard of living, and you live according to how you perceive your life. There are also so many influences on your lifestyle, besides how you already perceive how life should be lived. The main influencers in your life are your parents. At a young age, they taught you their way of life, which has been carried along by you, so you tend to live according to what your parents taught you. Other influencers in your life are religion. You live according to your religion, be it Christianity, Muslimism, Hinduism, and whatever other religion you find in this world. Religion is a lifestyle because you will live according to their standards of living, according to their laws and regulations and according to their perceptions of right and wrong. I hope this is making sense for you; I’m just trying to be objective and explain it as best as I can. My next task will be to try to explain the alternative.
