👋 Hello and Welcome! I have been building up to this newsletter, and will be growing the future ones from the concept I want to share with you and many other readers. Here, we’re exploring how we can find something new, special, and applicable to create a fun combination of an enjoyable career and lifestyle.

🤔 “How are we going to do this? How are you going to create something like that?” You might be thinking…
Well, the concept I have been working on for a while now is called:

Lifestyle Synergy

What is Lifestyle Synergy? Well 👇

💡Lifestyle synergy: Making a lifestyle and/or career that uses the common ground between two (or more) different concepts you enjoy/are talented at/work with, to create something greater than what they can achieve separately.

We’re aiming for a harmony between two different areas of life you enjoy to create something new. Think of it like two different things you naturally feel like you resonate with, and we’re aiming to find the common ground between them.

This Lifestyle Synergy merges two approaches we have been looking at recently:

💡Lifestyle Approach: Learning skills/processes to create sustainable and enjoyable regular life habits that help you to reach milestones, achieve goals, and maintain progress even after completion, ensuring that these new habits benefit you over the long-term.

✨Synergy – Finding the common ground between two different concepts to create something greater than what they can achieve separately.

How are we going to create and find this lifestyle synergy?
From someone else who found it already!

⬇️ ⬇️

🎨TRUE STORY about Lifestyle Synergy 📖

Let’s use an example: A recent social media animator on Instagram I stumbled on by accident, but really enjoy following called: thebookishanimator_ actually found her lifestyle synergy:

💼 Her Ikigai / background / job: 💼 
ANIMATOR

📖 One of her other passions: 📖
READING

🖼️ Her Lifestyle Synergy: 🖼️
ANIMATED BOOK COVERS

This alongside monetizing it by making a really popular social media channel (264K followers 🤯 at the time of me writing! – [Congratulations 🥳 Julia by the way if you read this!]) *. If you want to see how she found her lifestyle synergy, check the pinned post on her Instagram channel here.

She actually describes exactly how she found her lifestyle synergy in this post, and it was amazing!

*Just to be clear, thebookishanimator_ isn’t a subscriber (yet!), but she demonstrated such a good example, I had to include it. It’s rare to see someone else find their lifestyle synergy, AND provide an explanation.

🌟 Finding your Lifestyle Synergy 🌟

This is where it gets fun and interesting. Finding your version of this, but we need a place to start… So, we’re going to merge two concepts that anyone can use to find a starting point for Lifestyle Synergies.

CONCEPT 1: WESTERNIZED IKIGAI

As we discussed in our previous newsletter (here), westernized Ikigai is about making a career that fulfills you in the following ways:

1. You love it

2. You are good at it

3. The world needs it

4. You are paid for it

It’s best summarized with a picture like this:

Admittedly, Ikigai can be hard to find, so, I’m going to write some follow-up questions to help you find your Ikigai as well. They will be released on my Instagram channel ➡️ Here 
As well as on the blogs on the website ➡️ Here

CONCEPT 2: LOVE LANGUAGES

"The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts" – By Dr. Gary Chapman is all about how people give and receive, “love”. In this particular book’s context, it’s more about romantic love, but, we are going to use the same principles and apply them in in a non-romantic Ikigai/career lifestyle format. The five forms of love he describes are:

1. Words of Affirmation: Expressing care for others through spoken words, praise, and appreciation.

2. Acts of Service: Showing care for others by doing things for the other person, such as chores, repairs, building things, or other helpful acts.

3. Receiving (or giving) Gifts: Giving thoughtful gifts that show you know and care about the recipient.

4. Quality Time: Spending undivided attention with the person, sharing activities and meaningful conversations.

5. Physical Touch: Demonstrating care for others through physical contact.

The key to this step is finding which types of love you feel strongest in terms of giving/serving others with in a non-romantic and safe way, but this can in some instances include what/how you receive as well (I aim to be releasing some social media content in a fun way to help you find this, so make sure to stay tuned to the Instagram channel for that).

🤝 Making your Lifestyle Synergy 🤝

Once you identify your love languages and have a clearer picture of your Ikigai, it's time to find a synergy between these to achieve a new, more fun, purposeful, and engaging lifestyle.

For example, if your love languages are gift-giving and quality time, but your IT programming job no longer satisfies your personal Ikigai, and feels repetitive and boring, you might consider changing your approach.

Instead of staying in a routine role, you could start your own business or find a business specializing in custom software for clients. This would reignite your passion for programming, satisfy your love for "gift-giving" by providing tailor-made solutions, and allow for quality time with clients through meaningful interactions.

This new path combines your skills/Ikigai with your love languages, creating a fulfilling lifestyle synergy.

🖋️ Exercise 🖋️

When you think about how you give and receive love (applied in a general, safe, and non-romantic context):

• What do you prefer to give more than receive? 🤔

• What do you prefer to receive more than give? 🤔 (Is there any overlap? – Keep those in mind)
  

• How can you (safely) apply the love languages you give in your current career or role?
  

• Is there anything in particular you do that you really enjoy, and would love to be paid for, that also uses the love languages you give and/or receive?

Take some time to think these over and see what you come up with.

I will go through these for myself and put them up on the blog ➡️ here

✍️ Quote to ponder: ✍️

“When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.” 

– Nancy Coey

📖 Want something else to read? 📖

Blogs where I expand on the Newsletter and show you more about how I use these tools: 👉 Here
More newsletters 👉 Here
Sci-Fi Fantasy Short stories 👉 Here 

🎨 Lastly, this edition’s Artwork Alcove design: 🎨

At the time of writing, these are just artworks, but soon, these are going to be made into t-shirts and posters, so watch this space for when they are ready for purchase!)

This newsletter is one I had been looking forward to writing for quite a while. The aim is to help readers find their own unique lifestyle synergies, and I will create other areas to help support you in your endeavours. But it does require some work from you, because only you 🫵 can find your own lifestyle synergy.

I wish you the best of luck in this, 🚶“Call to adventure”, where I hope you give this a real go and find something new you haven’t considered, or perhaps find a new perspective, or a revival on what you do currently to make it more fulfilling and worthwhile.

Give yourself some time, and come back to this a bit later if it helps. The aim is to help you find what is most meaningful and rewarding for you and provide some extra insight into areas maybe not considered before 🤔

That’s it for this edition! Share your ideas, comments, and feel free to ask questions on my posts in Instagram, Facebook, or X/Twitter: @the_norskiwi_nz. I will be posting material relating to this newsletter to help encourage, and inspire you throughout the fortnight.

Until next time!

Much love to you all, and see you in the next one!
🍵Cheers!☕

Norskiwi