Hi this is about to be your full comprehensive guide on how to romanticize life.
You may want to bookmark this page now, because it’s not short. But it is important.
To me, romanticizing your life is the opposite of FOMO.
You don’t have any Fear Of Missing Out, because you’re too focused on living your own life.
If you want to know just how to romanticize life, keep reading..
Quick Access
Be Present
I’m not going to delve deep into mindfulness and it’s many benefits but the point of being present is to really live in the moment.
No two days are ever truly the same.
Every opportunity or encounter you have is unique.
You will never have the exact same experience or interaction.
No moment in life is ever repeated.
That means each day is special and important.
The Japanese concept of this is called Ichi-go ichi-e 一期一会
It’s one of those phrases that doesn’t really have a direct translation to English.
It can be translated to one time, one meeting and also as a once in a lifetime encounter.
What is important to recognize is that every encounter is a once in a lifetime encounter.
It’s a concept, a philosophy, a way of life and a reminder.
Cherish every moment.
Live as if this moment in time will never happen again, because it never will.
Sometimes we get so caught up in life and the days just sort of blend together.
You take the same route to work, eat the same lunch, talk to the same friends… Do something tiny to make each day special instead of the week getting blended into one long blur.
Life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, so slow down and enjoy the journey.
Pay Attention
Get better at reading signs from the universe. Notice coincidences.
Notice the tiny magical moments that happen in your every day life.
Look up at the sky and the clouds, look down at the grass and the sidewalk.
The more you look for magic, the more you’ll find it.
Get Off of Auto Pilot
Remember how I talked about the days just bluring together?
That’s usually because you’ve been stuck on auto pilot.
Try something new!
Take the scenic route, rearrange your furniture, keep an open mind and step out of your comfort zone.
You can’t keep doing the same things repeatedly and expect different results.
Curate your consumption
Did you ever play the yellow car game when you were a kid?
Suddenly, when you’re looking for yellow cars – they’re everywhere.
Only, they were always there. You just didn’t notice them before.
What you focus on can determine your reality.
Surround yourself with positive people, watch uplifting videos and shows, listen to pep talks and read books about happiness.
I know a lot of us (including myself) find forensics and true crime fascinating, but when everything you’re watching is about anger and murder.. it can be hard to remember that there are just as many good and happy things happening in the world too.
Practice Gratitude
Focus on what you have not what you don’t.
Be grateful for where you are and the things that you have – both physical and not.
Remember that the grass is always greener where you water it.
It only looks greener on the other side because they’re using a filter.
Stop being so invested in other people’s lives (especially strangers) and become invested in your own.
You are the main character of your life. Act like it.
Find Wonder
Let your hair down and act like a kid sometimes.
Children are so naturally curious and happy to discover new things.
Try to channel your inner child once in a while.
Doodle mindlessly, color a coloring page, climb a tree, build a pillow fort, jump rope, color on the sidewalk with chalk, blow bubbles, watch nostalgic cartoons or build a sandcastle.
Wander and go nowhere in particular.
Keep an open mind and step out of your comfort zone.
Go the opposite of the way you usually go.
Get lost on purpose.
Find shapes in the clouds or constellations in the night sky.
Try a restaurant you’ve never been to and order food you’ve never eaten.
Celebrate Everything
Celebrate every single win.
Even the really small ones.
Celebrate all of the tiny good things that happen in your day.
Got a streak of green lights when you were running late?
Celebrate that! When you look for the good, you find more of the good.
Allow yourself to get happy about the little wins.
Every single win counts.
Even just a little bit of progress is still progress.
When you’re aiming for a specific goal post be sure to stop and acknowledge and celebrate how far you’ve come.
No matter how good you get, the goal post will always keep moving.
That’s why you need to remember to celebrate along the way!
It’s just another way to show yourself love and appreciation.
It’s important to acknowledge your small steps and accomplishments and to reflect on how far you’ve come.
Keeping track of, acknowledging and celebrating your progress will make your growth that much more obvious to you.
Growth is often a long process and it can be difficult to see how much we are growing when we’re in the midst of it.
Celebrating your tiny wins will help give you the positive reinforcement you need to keep going.
Create Ambiance
Light a bunch of candles.
Try scented candles in exotic, flavorful or spa aromas.
Purify your house with sage or diffuse essential oils.
Or burn incense instead.
The point is to make your space smell great and feel cozy.
Lit candles also create nice lighting and cast shadows depending on where they’re set.
If you want to be energetic, turn on all the lights!
If you’re feeling more low key then dim the lights instead.
Create the ambiance that works for you.
One of the best and easiest ways to set the mood is through music.
Music generally makes whatever task you’re doing at least seem more enjoyable.
You can probably think of a scene in a movie or show where the characters are doing something mundane, like washing dishes, but because there’s a peppy pop song playing it doesn’t seem so bad.
Make your own soundtrack and create a playlist of background music.
If you don’t want to go through the trouble of creating your own playlist, there are so many playlists out there that you’re likely to find one to suit the mood of anything you want to do.
Fancy up your food
I know, your meals don’t really need green onions, sesame seeds, cilantro or a perfect drizzle of sauce.. but why not?
For some reason even though those things often don’t add very much flavor – they do make your food look leveled up.
Even if you just put your instant ramen in a nice bowl, add some extra seasoning and pull out the wooden chopsticks in the back of your cutlery drawer (is that just us?) it can make a difference.
Pour your regular water into a nice wine glass and add a slice of lemon to upgrade your beverage.
This may not be a necessity for how to romanticize life.. but, I do recommend that you try it before you knock it.
Keep Fresh Flowers
Anything from babies breath to roses to sunflowers.
Display them in a vase, bottle or jar.
There is just something about bringing a small and beautiful piece of nature into your home the really embodies how to romanticize life.
You could pick some wildflowers, or cut flowers from your garden, but I often find inexpensive bouquets at my local grocery store.
Embrace Extra
You are not too much. You are just enough.
Get all glammed up to run to the grocery store, or wear your pjs if you want.
Get dressed up and do your makeup just to do it. Put on some perfume.
Take selfies – not to post – just to document your badass beautiful self.
Basically just make sure that you do you.
Buy yourself jewelry and chocolates.
Cook a three course meal of your favorite foods then enjoy the fruits your labors.
Or if you aren’t a chef, order something in.
Use the good plates. Eat dessert. You are worth it.
I’m an adult with a job who doesn’t do anything extravagant for their birthday.
Do I need to take a week off from work?
No.
Do I still take a week off from work? Absolutely.
Did you know that in 2018 there were 768 million vacation days went unused in the United States alone?!
I am not down with contributing to that statistic.
Make every gathering something special.
Make doing things by yourself special too!
Use the fancy dishes, wear the lavish clothes, the diamond earrings and sexy underwear, burn the candles and lather on the expensive lotion.
You never know how much time you, or anyone else, has left. Try to make the most of every day
Clean up
You know what isn’t aesthetic?
Clutter and mess. Declutter the things that are no longer useful or that no longer spark joy for you.
Throw your trash away and make your personal space more of a sanctuary than a dump.
It’s way more difficult to romanticize your life when your environment is a mess.
Cleaning up your space is also a good way to clear up your mind.
Cleaning up your space will also help you out a lot with my next tip on how to romanticize your life.
Document your Life
Start a journal – physical, digital or video.
Take pictures!
Yes, even if you don’t like the way you look in them.
Document the everyday beauty that you see.
Keep some sort of record or memoir of your life.
Even if all you write is one or two lines a day, that’s better than none.
We never remember things as well as we think we will.
Memories can sometimes sort of fade away if you don’t anchor them to anything.
When it comes to other medias, I’m not saying that you need to share everything in your life.
It’s ok to keep some things to yourself.
But if what you want to do is start a Youtube or Tik Tok etc. channel, do it.
Love the Little Things
I saved the most important tip for how to romanticize life for last.
It is to fall in love with the details.
The warmth of clean sheets just out of the dryer, the sound of rain on a tin roof, big fluffy clouds in the sky, discovering a great new book, identifying a bird call or just breathing deeply and filling your lungs with air.
The little things in life are the easiest to take for granted.
You should also try to enjoy the less magical and more mundane parts of life.
Like running errands, shopping for groceries, your commute to work and other less pleasant tasks. Even romanticize your basic cooking and cleaning!
Ok, I get it. That’s way easier said than done.
Like, how do you romanticize life when you’ve got a sink full of dirty dishes to wash?
Try adding music or propping up your phone to watch a video.
Wear dish washing gloves, make bubbles with the soap, wash out the sink when you’re done and enjoy the glorious emptiness.
If you have a dishwasher this doesn’t really apply – appreciate that you have a cool robot (sorta) in your kitchen that does all the work for you!
Have you ever watched any Studio Ghibli movies?
They’re amazing.
10/10 recommend for many reasons, but in particular for how they highlight so many little things.
I don’t think I could’ve said this better myself:
Conclusion
Romanticizing life is really about changing your mindset more than it is about anything else.
You don’t need to make big sweeping changes or any large purchases, you just have to work on appreciating what you have and who you are.
The truth is that our lives are not movies.
Life isn’t always a fun adventure.
There will be a lot of times where we are doing things that we don’t really want to do, things that aren’t cute but are necessary.
Growth can be messy and difficult.
The goal of learning to love the little things and to find wonder and magic in them is to help you appreciate each day – even if it’s not an exciting one.
Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.
Pause and appreciate all of the little good things in life.
Stop and appreciate yourself too, how great you already are and how you’re working towards becoming even better!
The true key in how to romanticize life is to realize that your life is already magical.
Like what you read? Want to be friends?
I would love it if you signed up for my mailing list!
I’ll send you a new e-mail every week when I release a new post!
You’ll also be given access to my printables vault and won’t be sent any spam.
Just enter your e-mail address below ↴
Comments are closed.