Romanticize Your Life
It finally snowed in New York City yesterday.
As I watched the beautiful snowflakes come down, I grabbed my jacket and boots and headed outside to soak it all up.
And honestly the beauty faded a little once I left my warm apartment and was walking through the cold slush with the wind blowing in my face.
But then I took a moment to look around at the trees covered in fresh white snow and the beauty of the empty streets and I started to enjoy being able to experience snow for the first time in ten years. I continued my walk, took a bunch of pictures, and soaked up the experience before my hands got numb and i had to hurry back inside.
Yes it was kind of cheesy and probably something you would see in a bad movie montage, but taking time to be fully present and turn the little, everyday things into beautiful moments can have a profound effect on your life.
Keep reading for five ways that you can romanticize your life, on Valentine’s Day and every day.
Be present. At its heart, romanticizing your life is all about being fully present in whatever it is that you are doing, even the mundane. It is a form of mindfulness. So often we operate on autopilot in our normal routine. We drive the same commute, we go to the same gym, we go to our usual coffee shop. We barely pay attention to these things. But being present and bringing your focus to what you are already doing will allow you to appreciate things you never noticed before.
Turn it into a ritual. An easy way to romanticize your life is to turn mundane things into a ritual. Maybe you have your morning coffee in your favorite mug sitting in your most comfortable chair as you read a book. Or you put on your favorite playlist at full volume and sing as you clean your house. Make things you normally rush through into things that you actually look forward to.
Appreciate the small wonders. The big trips and grand experiences are wonderful and definitely a key part of life, but they are not going to happen all the time. Learning to find and appreciate the small wonders can help you capture that feeling of awe more often. The sunrise or sunset, a happy coincidence, deep conversations with friends, a delicious meal, perfect summer days. Find your everyday wonders and appreciate them.
Put your phone away. We all do it - the second we are bored, we pull out our phone. We have forgotten how to just be. Try keeping your phone in your pocket the next time you go out and instead take in your surroundings. Maybe you will notice that nice stranger who is smiling at you, or the beautiful way the sun is coming through the window.
Embrace your main character energy. This probably sounds like another one of those shallow social media trends, but there is some real meaning behind it. The greatest regret of people who are dying is living their life according to others expectations and not what they wanted. Embracing your main character energy can help you to lean into your agency and not feel like just a bystander in your life. From wearing the outfit you want to speaking up for your needs to taking a day by yourself and just doing whatever you want, I encourage you to find ways to actively create your life and not just let it pass you by.
