What Is The Difference Between Life And Lifestyle?

Not sure about the different meanings between life and lifestyle or how both play into your everyday way of life? This is an especially important difference to understand for new adults and those beginning their transition into adulthood.

Life is essentially a more personal idea of how you live while lifestyle is how others would describe the way you live your life. Let’s dive more into this below and also learn about how Adulting Starts Here was inspired by this question and can help you develop a better lifestyle.

What is the difference between life and lifestyle?

Well… Life is for you. It is your personal track record for yourself. It’s the relationships you nurture or let go of. Your life is built upon both your more personal actions and inactions. If you choose to not develop relationships with others throughout your life then you are living a secluded life. 

Lifestyle, conversely, is more of a style of living. It reflects the attitudes and values of a person and ultimately how you are viewed by others. Lifestyle is for others. It’s the image you are trying to portray. How you want others to recognize you. It’s the types of clothes you wear, the types of cars you drive, the type of house you live in, etc.

So, if someone were to describe me as a minimalist, they would be describing the type of lifestyle that I try to embody. A lifestyle where I try and minimize excess and focus on having the things that I need along with quality wants. Another person’s lifestyle could be different and therefore described using different words.

Another example is when we say someone lives an active lifestyle or a healthy lifestyle. This suggests that they excercise, eat healthily, and live a life that centers around promoting their health. Likewise, if you choose to live on the go, then someone might say you are living a nomadic lifestyle.

Why was Adulting Starts Here created?

Adulting Starts Here was created after I realized that we spend most of our life trying to maximize two things, our life, and our lifestyle. It all really sums up to those two categories, everything we do. Life or Lifestyle. However, in pursuit of maximizing both, we often do not maximize either, especially during that decade and a half when we are transitioning into adulthood. This short time frame has come with a ton of lifestyle changes and life changes in general. It is the time where a lot of people discover themselves, what they like, what they don’t like, and hopefully who they want to be.

Additionally, adulting itself isn’t really talked about in a how-to manner. How to properly adult seems to be a “learn as you go” method, but we all have similar experiences with much of the adulting process. So why not try and share our experiences and the knowledge we have gained?

What are the difficulties of adulting today?

There is so much we don’t know, so much changing, so much that we must do, and so, naturally, things fall through the cracks – mistakes are made – opportunities and people are lost. We are not at a balance between our life and lifestyle yet – we can’t be, because it’s just now really being formulated. The consequences of this imbalance have become a very prevalent topic in today’s society. Think “work-life balance,” the hustle culture, burnout culture, and so much more.

We are more connected to the world around us than ever before, but it seems like the more connected we become to the world, the less time we have to actually enjoy it. Now, with this being a young adult lifestyle blog and podcast, I am speaking specifically from my perspective of the world. It seems that the younger millennials and Generation Z, which is my generation, are at the highest risk of being swallowed by this lack of balance and quality of life. Through social media and the pressures of this “pursuit of happiness”, it seems like there is a constant pressure to be the best, do the most, and overcommit constantly.

Couple that with the natural stressors of growing up and you are not on the best pathway to developing a happier life.

We are at the age of the most transition in our lives, and possibly the most defining. The habits, fears, goals, and confidence that we form now will greatly shape the rest of our lives. So, we must be careful about how we use these years – yes, let’s make the most of them because we are not getting any younger.

However, we need to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves, not just grinding academically or career-wise. We must start seeking out the balance between our life and lifestyle early so that as we grow older, we recognize our tipping points. If not, we risk the cliff of burnout or worse. More so, though I think there needs to be a greater effort for information sharing on how to adjust to these transition phases and better develop our own sense of the world during this time.

Who is this adulting help for?

Adulting Starts Here is for all ages, and it is especially for those of us between the ages of 15 and 30. A lot happens between the ages of 15 and 30. You go from pre-teen to teenager, teenager to young adult, and young adult to full-fledged adulthood. There is a lot that happens throughout each transition and having some idea of what is around the corner and how to handle it is essential. Adulting Starts Here is made for them – for you. It’s for those of us currently going through these transition phases and those who will be soon entering them.

How does Adulting Starts Here aim to make adulting easier?

Adulting Starts Here aims to shed light on the hardest parts of transitioning into adulthood and setting ourselves up early to make the most of the opportunities that come our way. On the podcast and in this niche blog, we do our best to share information that can help you navigate these transition years. If you are thinking about going to college or are already in college, I have information on how you can find funding for college so you can hopefully graduate debt-free.

Have you just started your first job and don’t know what to financially do with your money? I have episodes and guests that go into that topic. Are you confused about how to start networking or don’t know how to find a mentor? I have episodes and blog posts geared toward those topics. These are challenges that we all eventually face. There are things that I am going through now, that I intend to share on this platform in hopes that my journey can help others.

Adulting Starts Here is all about increasing access to information pertinent to successfully navigating early adulthood. It is a resource that young adults can turn to as they figure themselves out.

It is YOUR life and it is YOUR lifestyle.

You live it how you choose. I definitely intend to. I am just creating this medium to help aid in your successful transition into adulthood.

So take a look around; I am sure there is something here that you will find value in. I wish you much success on your Adulting Starts Here journey. Till next time.

Read More: How Do I Start Adulting?

---

Best of luck adulting!

And Remember,

Adulting Starts Here

Thanks for reading! If you saw any value in this article, please share it with others. Adulting Starts Here is all about making adulting 101 easier. So share the information – help increase access.

Disclosure: This post may contain some referral links, if you follow them and purchase anything from the recommended services/products, I might receive some commission. I can assure you though that I would never recommend something I don’t trust myself. Thanks for supporting Adulting Starts Here!