How to romanticise your life, realistically.

The term “romanticizing your life” sounds like your going to be staging a scene from your favourite romcom, but its not, its so much deeper than that, it’s a form of healing and acceptance. Acceptance that although we can’t control everything in our lives we can control the way we see any given moment. It’s not about living like your Pinterest feed, it’s about revelling in your unfiltered life as messy and complicated as it may be, because it’s only when you can learn to find perfection within the imperfections that can you truly find the beauty and meaning in life.

How, you may ask? Well firstly you don’t need to overhaul your life overnight. Start small.

By appreciating the little things in life, that we might otherwise take for granted.

Stop saving things for best, instead using them just because.

Start slowing down.

Take time to do things for yourself, for no other reason than because they simply bring you joy.

The simplest things that we do daily; showering, getting dressed, your daily commute… these often become the things we see to be mundane, and more often than not become automatic habits we go through the motions with, ticking them off our to do lists as if they are chores. But what if we were to take any one of these things and give them just a little more thought, go about them with intention.

It could be something as simple as your morning coffee, instead of chugging it down, take it outside for two minutes, breathe in the fresh air, smell the rich caffeinated cup under your nose, and savour the warmth as you drink it. Even something as simple as walking the dog can be a chance to just stop and take in the surroundings, reminding yourself that “your daily route is someone else’s holiday”.

That’s what romanticizing is all about, seeing your life with fresh eyes, choosing to live in that moment rather than just existing and shifting your focus from what is lacking to what is abundantly present. This small shift has the power to make even the most mundane tasks magical. It really doesn’t matter what it is you choose to romanticise, its more about the process of changing your mindset from seeing life as a list of “ I have to do’s” into an appreciation of all the things you get to do.

It’s not about perfection, nor is it about curating a flawless existence, its about learning to approach life with curiosity and appreciation, so that when we are faced with things that test us, we can stop and consider there is always something to be grateful for, rather than letting those moments swallow us whole.

The secret to romanticizing your life is realising that you have the ability to change your experience with just your mindset, and in a world where everyone’s always striving for more, being able to find joy within the simpler things in life means you’ll be able to appreciate MORE but with the need for LESS.

Appreciate the little things, as one day you’ll realise these were the big things…