Romanticise Your Life!
Romanticising life catapults day-to-day life into a projection of gratitude. A habit that dates back to 18th Century Europe, it’s a reminder that ‘love actually is all around.’
As much as social media can be a whirlpool of negativity, some trends boost wellbeing with alacrity, including a range of self care habits. Romanticising life, for one, can be a useful self care tool meaning to see the beauty in the small things in life that are perhaps taken for granted. Opening our minds into an encyclopedia of gratitude. Whether the answer to the missing node of satisfaction in our lives, or an ephemeral trend online, romanticising life can make a huge difference. What does this actually mean for our day-to-day routines?
Matcha, by IG @kourtneykardash. Available via Poosh by Kourtney Kardashian Barker. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Romanticising life refers to finding joy in the small and mundane moments of life. It’s a beautiful mindfulness technique for remaining grounded, acting with intention and living in the present moment, as we learn to be more grateful for every little thing that makes up our day. Even if some moments appear boring, inconvenient or just routine on the surface, like studying for an important exam or the dreaded everything shower (iykyk). This can be applied to literally everything, like sitting outside to drink a morning matcha, taking time to be thankful for the nature that surrounds you. Or listening to an inspiring playlist on the commute to work, noticing little details like how the music makes you feel and being appreciative of that. Even if you’re on the tube during rush hour.
These are daily tasks that we can overlook as things we just do. But, by thinking about them in a more positive light, we are encouraged to live with intention - being thankful for all of the abundance the world offers us. Even the small things that aren’t actually that small. There are various methods of implementing this into life.
One way (probably the most talked about on social media) is pretending you’re the main character in every situation. Whether that be in a movie, a concert, or whatever inspires you. Maybe you pretend to be getting ready for a red carpet when doing your makeup before work. Even though it may sound kinda weird when you say it like that, these techniques do work and can make the mundane steps of a routine much more fun.
Take that everything shower, say, but pretend it’s the opening concert of your first world tour:
You’re playing to a packed arena, with people even standing outside to hear the show. You can take it as deep or delulu as you want.
From a speaker, your favourite music plays, and you instantly feel relaxed. This is like your ‘me time’.
Over the next maybe 30 minutes, you sing through most of the album whilst combatting the everything shower to-do list.
You leave the shower feeling refreshed, closing with your favourite song.
Suddenly, the 30 minutes of dizziness-inducing steam and the strict rigmarole is not so dreaded and does not fall victim to procrastination. It’s romanticised. By doing this, we practice gratitude for that ‘everything shower’, or whatever stimulus is at hand. From the literal shower, water and resources that grant you the ability to be in there for 30 minutes, to the strength of your body to commit to the routine of washing hair, doing a facemask, etcetera. A once mundane, kinda mildly stressful activity is now fun and we see how much of a blessing those small moments actually are.
By @evarankiin on IG. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
There are, of course, other methods to start romanticising life as well, like treating yourself every so often, and taking more time away from screens to just live. Romanticising life is even popular amongst celebrities like Kendall Jenner, highlighting that even it-girls we may perceive as ‘having everything in life’ can still fall into the loop of feeling uninspired. Tapping into gratitude has so many advantages, from showcasing all of the blessings in life, to actual health benefits:
Stress Reduction: Recognising the good that exists in life can mean we aren’t so consumed with any negative elements, helping us to feel more in the present moment and less discouraged by the ‘boring’ and small aspects of life.
Decrease in Anxiety: Kinda linking to stress reduction, any form of mindfulness (romanticising life, meditation, manifestation, yoga) can avail mental health. It is permission to relax and reflect, taking time to just be.
Acting with Purpose: Through romanticism, we can feel more in touch with what’s going on in our lives. We can realise which parts of our life are most fulfilling, and which areas we could alter to keep wellbeing at the forefront of our minds. This helps with productivity and acting intentionally, improving mental wellbeing overall.
That being said, of course romanticising life is not super easy right away. It can take a while of practise and adjustment, so that our thought patterns alter to favour thinking positively instead of negatively. So you do have to kinda stick with it.
It’s also important to recognise any negative emotions we face, and allow ourselves to feel those too, as forcing ourselves to be positive all the time can do the opposite of what we are intending. Romanticising life isn’t to ignore parts of life that don’t fulfill us, whether that be a relationship/friendship, job and so on.
It's important to take care of ourselves and protect our peace, energy and wellbeing; the whole premise of self care.
By @kendalljenner on IG. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Next time you’re outside, take a few minutes to feel everything around. Any noises of birds chirping, how the breeze feels on the skin, the different flowers that grow through the changing seasons. Relish in the positive energy and take note of how much of the small things can actually bring so much happiness.
