Personal life is the course of an individual Humans, known taxonomically as Homo sapiens , are the only living species in the Homo genus of bipedal primates in Hominidae, the great ape family. However, in some cases "human" is used to refer to any member of the genus Homo's life, especially when viewed as the sum of personal choices contributing to one's personal identity Identity is an umbrella term used throughout the social sciences to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, including the two forms of social psychology. The term is also used with respect to place identity.[1] It is a common notion in modern existence—although more so in more prosperous parts of the world such as Western Europe Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity — the region lying in the Western part of Europe. Another definition was created during the and North America North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the southeast.[2] In these areas, there are service industries which are designed to help people improve their personal lives via counselling Psychotherapy, or personal counseling with a psychotherapist, is an intentional interpersonal relationship used by trained psychotherapists to aid a client or patient in problems of living or life coaching There are many applications of coaching ranging from sport, to business, to niches such as divorce or motivational speaking. Sessions may be one-on-one either or in a group setting, in-person or over the telephone, or by mail, or via IRC. It may include supervised practice such as in shadow coaching, and often in team or organizational coaching.[3]
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History
Humans traditionally live in family-based social structures and artificial shelters.In the past, before modern technology Technology is the usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization. The word technology comes from the Greek technología — téchnē (τέχνη), an 'art', 'skill' or 'craft' and -logía (-λογία), the study of something, or the branch of knowledge of a discipline. The term can either be applied generally largely alleviated the problem of economic scarcity Scarcity is the fundamental economic problem of having seemingly unlimited human needs and wants, in a world of limited resources. It states that society has insufficient productive resources to fulfill all human wants and needs. Alternatively, scarcity implies that not all of society's goals can be pursued at the same time; trade-offs are made of in industrialised countries, most people spent a large portion of their time attempting to provide their basic survival needs, including water, food, and protection from the weather.[4] Survival skills Survival skills are techniques a person may use to help other people or a person in a dangerous situation such as natural disasters.. Generally speaking, these techniques are meant to provide the basic necessities for human life: water, food, shelter, habitat, and the need to think straight, to signal for help, to navigate safely, to avoid were necessary for the sake of both self and community; food needed to be harvested and shelters needed to be maintained.[5] There was little privacy Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals, but share basic common themes. Privacy is sometimes related to anonymity, the wish to remain unnoticed or in a community, and people were identified by their social role.[6] Jobs Labour economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the market for labour. Labour markets function through the interaction of workers and employers. Labour economics looks at the suppliers of labour services , the demanders of labour services (employers), and attempts to understand the resulting pattern of wages, employment, and were assigned out of necessity rather than personal choice.[7]
Furthermore, individuals in many ancient cultures In older anthropology texts and discussions, a primitive culture is one that lacks major signs of economic development or modernity primarily viewed their self-existence under the aspect of a larger social whole, often one with mythological The term mythology can refer to either the study of myths, or to a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story, but academic use of underpinnings which placed the individual in relation to the cosmos In its most general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from a Greek term κόσμος meaning "ordered world" and is the antithetical concept of chaos. Today the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The words cosmetics and cosmetology originate from the same root. In Russian and.[8] People in such cultures found their identity not through their individual choices—indeed, they may not have been able to conceive a choice which was purely individual. Such individuals, if asked to describe themselves, would speak of the collective of which they were part: the tribe A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states, the Church Christian Church and church (Greek kyriakon , "thing belonging to the Lord"; also ekklesia (ἐκκλησία) (Latinized as ecclesia, "assembly") are used to denote both a Christian association of people and a place of worship. In the phenomenological sense there are many such associations of people that call themselves, the nation A nation is a group of people who share culture, ethnic origin and language, often possessing or seeking its own independent government. The development and conceptualization of a nation is closely related to the development of modern industrial states and nationalist movements in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, although.[9] Even now, survival issues are still dominant in many countries and societies. For example, the continents of Africa and Asia are still largely mired in poverty Poverty is the lack of basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter, because of the inability to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution. Relative poverty is the condition of having fewer resources or less income than others within a society or country, or compared and third-world The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned or not moving at all with either capitalism and NATO or communism and the Soviet Union (which along with its allies represented the Second World). This definition provided a way of broadly categorizing the nations of the Earth into three groups based on conditions, without technology, secure shelter, or reliable food sources. In such places, the concepts of a "personal life", "self-actualization Self-actualization is a term that has been used in various psychology theories, often in slightly different ways . The term was originally introduced by the organismic theorist Kurt Goldstein for the motive to realize one's full potential. In his view, it is the master motive—indeed, the only real motive a person has, all others being merely", "personal fulfillment", or "privacy Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals, but share basic common themes. Privacy is sometimes related to anonymity, the wish to remain unnoticed or" are largely unaffordable luxuries.[10]
The English philosopher, John Locke John Locke , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social contract theory. His work had a great impact upon the, was one of the earliest to discuss the concept of individual rights Group rights are rights held by a group rather than by its members separately, or rights held only by individuals within the specified group; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by individual people regardless of their group membership or lack thereof. Group rights have historically been used both to infringe upon and to facilitate. In the 17th century, he promoted the natural rights of the individual to life Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being. The concept of a right to life is central to debates on the issues of capital punishment, euthanasia, self defense, abortion and war, liberty Liberty is the concept of ideological and political philosophy that identifies the condition to which an individual has the right to behave according to one's own personal responsibility and free will. The conception of liberty is impacted by ideals concerning the social contract as well as arguments that are concerned with the state of nature, and property Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of persons. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property has the right to consume, sell, rent, mortgage, transfer, exchange or destroy their property, and/or to exclude others from doing these things. Important widely recognized types of, and included the pursuit of happiness Happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources as one of the individual's goals.[11]
Personal lives today
Increasingly, leisure time is spent on computer gamesThe notion of a personal life, as now understood, is in part a creation of modern Western society. In the US, especially, privacy is highly valued. Since the colonial period The term colonial history of the United Kingdom refers to the history from the start of European colonization of the Europe/European settlement to the time of independence from Europe, and especially to the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain which declared themselves independent in 1776. Starting in the late 16th century, England,, Americans have been noted for their individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own interests, whether by society, family or any and their pursuit of self-definition In the subfield of Sociology called Sociology of knowledge, controversy over the boundaries of autonomy stopped at the concept of relative autonomy , until a typology of autonomy was created and developed within science and technology studies (MARANHÃO, 2005; 2006; 2007; SOBRAL & MARANHÃO, 2008). According to it, the contemporary form of.[12] Indeed, the two most famous American documents—the United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal and the Constitution The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States—explicitly raise the pursuit of happiness "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence, and considered by some as part of one of the most well crafted, influential sentences in the history of the English language. These three aspects are listed among the "unalienable rights" or and the expectation of privacy In United States constitutional law the expectation of privacy is a legal test which is crucial in defining the scope of the applicability of the privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The "expectation of privacy," as a legal concept with a precise definition, is found only in U.S. case law. It is to the level of rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement — i.e. rights are normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory. The concept of rights is often fundamental to civilized societies, and it is of vital importance in such disciplines.
In modern times, many people have come to think of their personal lives as separate from their work (see also Marx's theory of alienation Marx's theory of alienation , as expressed in the writings of the young Karl Marx (in particular the Manuscripts of 1844), refers to the separation of things that naturally belong together, or to put antagonism between things that are properly in harmony. In the concept's most important use, it refers to the social alienation of people from). Work and recreation are distinct; one is either on the job or not, and the transition is abrupt. Employees have certain hours they are bound to work, and work during recreational time is rare.[13] This may be related to the continuing specialization of jobs and the demand for increased efficiency, both at work and at home. The common phrase "Work hard, play hard" illustrates this mindset. There is a growing trend, however, toward living more holistically and minimizing such rigid distinctions between work and play, in order to achieve the right work-life balance Work-life balance is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between "work" on one hand and "life" (pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development) on the other. Related, though broader, terms include "lifestyle balance" and "life balance". In 2005 a new social movement was born coined "the Ultimate Lifestyle" which saw the emphasis purposefully shift from a person's focus on material possessions and wealth, to that person living a life focused on experience, personal development, the gaining of wisdom through experiences and an importance on building strong family relationships, while continuing to contribute to society.
The concept of personal life also tends to be associated with the way individuals dress, the food they eat Food is any substance or materials eaten or drunk to provide nutritional support for the body or for pleasure. It usually consists of plant or animal origin, that contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals, and is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth, and, their schooling and further education Education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another as well as their hobbies A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse . From this came the expression "to ride one's hobby-horse", meaning "to follow a favorite pastime", and in turn, hobby in the modern sense of recreation, leisure activities Leisure or free time, is a period of time spent out of work and essential domestic activity. It is also the period of recreational and discretionary time before or after compulsory activities such as eating and sleeping, going to work or running a business, attending school and doing homework, household chores, and day-to-day stress. The, and cultural interests The performing arts are those forms of art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object. The term "performing arts" first appeared in the. Increasingly, in the developed world, a person's daily life is also influenced by their leisure use of consumer electronics Consumer electronics include electronic equipment intended for everyday use. Consumer electronics are most often used in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Some products classed as consumer electronics include personal computers, telephones, MP3 players, audio equipment, televisions, calculators, GPS automotive navigation such as televisions Television is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic ("black and white") or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission. The word is derived from mixed Latin, computers A computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data//information, and provides output in a useful format and the Internet The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by a broad array of electronic and, mobile phones A mobile phone is an electronic device used for full duplex two-way radio telecommunications over a cellular network of base stations known as cell sites. Mobile phones differ from cordless telephones, which only offer telephone service within limited range through a single base station attached to a fixed land line, for example within a home or and digital cameras A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor.[14]
Other factors affecting personal life are an individual's health At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization , in 1948, health was defined as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity", personal relationships An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love and liking, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships take place in a great variety of contexts, such as family, friends,, pets as well as his home and personal possessions.
Essential choices
Perhaps the two most important areas an individual must address when planning his personal life are those concerning the home and companionship. A number of decisions are required here:
The home
Choosing the right kitchenIn selecting a home, the individual must answer a number of questions:[15]
- whether to live in a house, apartment or collective habitat on land;
- whether to live in a houseboat, apartment or collective habitat on sea;
- whether to live in a town or city or in a more remote area such as a village or the countryside;
- whether to live close to family and friends.
Companionship
Basic choices here include the following:[16]
- whether to live alone or with a partner or family;
- whether to plan a partnership or marriage with a view to raising a family.
In the light of the above, further personal choices will follow, often with the assistance of one's partner, on how the home should be furnished, how the garden, if any, should be set out, and how relationships with neighbours should be developed.
Leisure activities
Kabukicho, Tokyo's entertainment districtThe way in which individuals make use of their spare time also plays an important role in defining their personal lives. In general, leisure activities can be categorised as either passive, in cases when no real effort is required, or active, when substantial physical or mental energy is needed.[17]
Passive activities include watching television, listening to music, watching sports activities or going to the cinema. The individual simply relaxes without any special effort.
Active activities may be more or less intensive ranging from walking, through jogging and cycling to sports such as tennis or football. Playing chess or undertaking creative writing might also be considered as demanding as these require a fair amount of mental effort.
Based on 2007 data, a US survey on use of leisure time found that the daily use of leisure time by individuals over 15 averaged 4.9 hours. Of this, more than half (2.6 hours) was spent on watching TV while only 19 minutes was spent on active participation in sports and exercise.[18]
How life is interconnected
Friends contribute to one's personal lifeMany people give definition to their lives by clarifying their life purposes, and separating their actions toward the achievement of these into discrete strands:[19]
- their intellectual lives,
- their working lives (career planning),
- their family lives (family planning),
- their sex lives, and
- their spiritual or religious lives.
In the interim, those who can afford to pause may adopt a lifestyle or assess their quality of life. Exceptional lives may, at least in part, find literary reflection in a biography, an autobiography or a memoir. Some outstanding lives merit hagiography or a vita.
An individual who is inclined to be introspective may second-guess his or her life choices. One may be told by friends and acquaintances to "get a life"—in the sense of promoting fuller participation in socially approved activities, often outside the private sphere. More broadly, certain modern cultures, some defined by state or corporate agencies, encourage individuals to submerge the personal identity in a greater whole. Communism, capitalism or other totalizing ideologies,[citation needed] mass movements, and even sports fandom are manifestations of this phenomenon, though differing vastly in degree. In this way, the ancient sensibility, which viewed collective identity as more important than personal identity, is returning to prominence in contemporary life.
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News Account
Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:00:00 GM
At the quantum level, the atoms that make up matter and the photons that make up light behave in seemingly bizarre ways. Particles can exist in "superposition," in more than one state at the same time (don't look!
