Personality Coaching Workouts by Drs. Lisa Horn
According to LIFESTYLE theory, there are four main elements to the ideal lifestyle. The first is the group itself, which consists of members who share commonalities of gender, age, orientation, and other common aspects of being human. The second element is the environment in which the members of the group live, work, and interact. The third aspect is internal motives, which are the driving forces that drive the individuals within the environment toward the values and attitudes of the society in which they live.
The case of Miss R. sheds light on the lives and times of its founder, Florence Knoll, who was a pioneer in the field of communal living. In her book, The Image of the Colonist, she portrayed her as a true social realist, as opposed to the cultural theorists who conceptualized her as a cultural idealist. In the case of LIFESTYLE, the focus groups, which Knoll used to study the effects of Colonial life upon the members of a city, are depicted as an actual environment rather than an ivory tower. This shift allows the study to be more closely associated with Knoll’s larger research project, which focused on the impact that European immigration had on the United States.
Unlike the lectures that focus on Knoll’s larger project, LIFESTYLE presents a more personal narrative, drawing upon the personal insights of participants. These stories help to make the text more engaging. The format is more fractured, with several stories told in rapid succession. Stories are told by people ranging from individual members of the LIFESTYLE team to a series of interviewees from various social media sites. The stories provide a glimpse of their daily lives, which is relevant given the fact that the format of the text includes a reflection on the lives of its participants.
Although Knoll does not engage in explicitly political or cultural criticism in the text, she does offer a broader social analysis. She rejects the reduction of individualism to a mentality shared by a group of “consumers” in that she argues that we can find a place for individualism in the public sphere even if it is not expressed in the format of a marketplace. The text also makes a persuasive case for the value of LIFESTYLE and highlights how its format allows for the sharing of meaningful connections through social media. In LIFESTYLE as Well as on Weblogger, Knoll makes clear that she is not interested in the promotion of Weber’s business in any way, but simply in making a book that shares her own interpretation of her life and the social media world.
The book has received mostly positive reviews from reviewers. One reviewer said that LIFESTYLE is a quick read, with many interesting stories and insights. The reviewer also noted that although she was a fan of Knoll’s work, she thought LIFESTYLE was too personal to be of use to everyone. However, others who have read the book said it was a unique take on an individual psychology book and provided some very practical suggestions for improving your social life. The author of LIFESTYLE as well as other authors of similar personality-building books such as eating Stop Eat, The Six Pack Abs Diet, and the husband-and-wife team of Michael Allen and Lisaisner provide some solid guidance to help you create the kind of lifestyle you want to live by applying the principles of psychological principles known as “personality capital”.