Romanticize your life

Romanticizing your life is not just another social media trend for influencers trying to promote green teas and online yoga subscriptions. It’s a way to practice mindfulness and it’s extremely healthy. No, I don’t have a PhD in literally anything, but here’s why I think romanticizing your life is very helpful for your little heart.

Weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, promotions and vacations only happen every once in a while. Therefore it’s important to make the most average, mundane rituals in your day-to-day life feel special and unique, because those are the days that make up the majority of your life.

I think we all know what it’s like to fall into a “survival-like” mindset, where we constantly obsess over the future, getting through the phase we’re currently in and worry so much about “the next thing” that we forget to stay present. We barely notice what’s right in front of us. And it’s totally okay and normal – it happens to all of us.

Romanticizing is realizing that every little thing in front of you is important and valuable and paying attention to these little things helps you slow the f*ck down.

Practically – what romanticizing your life is

If you’re practical like me, you want to crawl out of your own skin when someone vaguely solves your problems like: “oh, just stay present!”. Because what does that even mean? If it was easy, we would all do it, right?

Allow me to get practical for a second.

Romantizicing is slowing down. It’s taking your time to lay in bed and watch the sun rays through your window in the morning. It’s making a big deal out of your coffee, it’s setting the alarm a little earlier so you can take a nice long shower while listening to your favorite songs or finding ways to make your commute to work a little bit more enjoyable every day.

What romanticizing is not

Waking up with adrenaline and anxiety after 3 hours of sleep to a loud firetruck-sounding alarm screaming in your face. It’s not jumping out of bed knowing you’re already late, putting on whatever clothes, brushing your teeth while making a coffee to-go and also responding to e-mails, sprinting to your car and cussing out everyone in traffic while your nervoussystem is freaking out.

It’s about taking your time, slowing down and using all of your senses. It’s making sure that what you hear, taste, smell, see and feel makes you genuinely happy. Which brings me to my next point.

“But I don’t live in a pretty place, I don’t have pretty things”

This is where I think it’s easy to get things twisted.

You see the #RomanticizeYourLife TikTok’s and Instagram videos and assume that’s the ONLY right way to do it. You make a check list to “the perfect life”: 1. Make your bed, 2. Drink a green smoothie, 3. Journal, 4. Do a $1000 skin care routing 5. Take a yoga class every day at 5.AM.

No.

I mean if that’s you, amazing.

But that’s not what it’s about. It’s all about honoring what feels authentic and right for you.

IMAGINE if you’re not a coffee drinker, but forcing yourself to drink coffee every morning because “that’s what people do on TikTok”. That would be so silly, wouldn’t it?

The main point of this whole concept is that you don’t lack anything, you have everything you need to be happy right in front of you, right where you are, in this moment.

Where should I start?

It could be the main stream pop-culture things like flowers, candles and little things that makes your space feel nice and calming. It could be rearranging your furniture. It could be tapping into the affirmation “I am the main character of my own life” and make an effort to look nice and dress up on a normal day, simply just because it makes you feel good. It could be making a calming morning routine.

Pampering yourself: You don’t have to purchase all Rhode By Hailey Bieber products (but if you can afford it, good for you and go ahead!), but taking care of your skin, your body, long showers for your own pleasure and satisfaction is self love, self care and can absolutely be romanticized as well.

It could be prioritizing a little bit of reading over scrolling or journaling over posting. It could be romanticizing your night routine by getting as comfy as possible (nice pillows, figure out some lighting at night that makes you wind down, sleeping in something comfy and nice).

It could be dating yourself

To me, a big part of romanticizing my life is not just about acknowledging that I have everything I need to be happy, but also the fact that I am everything I need to be happy.

That means truly enjoying and honoring alone time and my own company.

Examples could be taking yourself for a nice dinner, solo traveling or go to the movies, but also just more simple (and free) things like going for walks alone, staying in, journaling or doing things you love doing without other people present.

It’s not “weird” or “awkward” to do things alone. Not in 2023. It’s pretty lit.

You’ve heard this one million times before, but the only person that will stay with you your entire life, everywhere you go is you.

Romanticizing is trusting your timing

Eventually, you’ll get to where you want to be, you’ll achieve all these dreams you have and more – but that doesn’t mean your life isn’t beautiful now. You don’t lack anything and you deserve to be happy, excited and joyful today and every day.

xxx

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