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Romanticizing: a definition
Before I get into today’s concept, I would like to clarify a point. It is normal to feel down at times – even often – and romanticizing, to me, means looking at how life unfolds without trying to control everything. It is not controlling the little moments but learning to enjoy them and make what is (not force what is not) more beautiful. You now understand my vision of the concept and, more importantly, you understand what romanticizing life does not mean. It is so easy when wanting to romanticize one’s life to try and make it as perfect as possible. However, perfection does not exist and striving for it can only make you unhappy. Romanticizing your life being supposed to help you live a happier life, trying to control life in order to romanticize it would be counterproductive. With that definition being given – keeping in mind it is my personal definition of it –, let me share with you how I see a romanticized life and what my tips to achieve that are.
The “main character vibe”
In my opinion, romanticizing does not mean “making things look better than they are”, even though it is the actual definition you would find in most dictionaries. As a French person, I consider that the English word romanticizing has common points with the French word roman. In French, un roman means a novel. Thus, to me, romanticizing means living life as if it were a novel. Oh, I am not telling you to control things, once again, but to let them unfold the way a story does. To me, romanticizing my life means being the main character of it.
What follows may sound (super) weird so be prepared. On a daily basis, I do my best to shift my perspective. For instance, when I walk, I imagine what music would fit the moment and how I would would look if I could see myself from behind. I know, that sounds weirder than weird. However, that has helped me a lot to see the beauty in the small moments. You can’t imagine how beautiful it is to walk while you listen to your own inner song: there is no music playing anywhere, but you fee like you could dance your whole life. That makes me happy. Moreover, seeing yourself from behind means you see yourself from another person’s perspective. That helps more than you may think when it comes to becoming more confident. When you look at yourself from your own perspective, you look for your imperfections, even without paying attention to it. That is how most of us work, being harder with ourselves than with others. However, whenever you shift your perspective and imagine that you look at yourself from another point of you, you are enabled to see yourself with the eyes you use to look at random persons in the street. You see what looks beautiful in you, those little details you never notice.
Extra tips to romanticize your life
Now that the concept of “main character” is clear – hopefully –, let me tell you how, in practice, you can use that concept to live a happier life. I know that imagining music around you or looking at yourself with new eyes is hard, and you may find that too weird for you altogether, which is completely fine. Thus, I will give you tips that are far more practical and easy to implement. Ready to romanticize your life?
– Take pictures of random things in order to take the time to appreciate them
– Use only your best items all the time.
– Slow down when doing random activities such as brewing coffee or watering plants.
– Choose your favorite character (from a book, a movie etc.) and imagine how they would spend their day. Then, see what you can do to make your day look a little bit like theirs.
– Spend a day withtout multitasking. You will see that you have much more energy.
– Sit somewhere (in nature or in a beautiful spot in your apartment) and just think, fantasize, daydream.
– Pick one of the five senses (usually, it is easier with sight) and focus on it all day long. Make sure you make the most of what you see/touch &c.
I hope today’s post was not all too weird and still helpful. That is concept I have had in mind for quite a long time now but strangely, putting it into words felt hard. Maybe it is because it is something I have not heard a lot about, and definitely not in the written format. If you have any questions regarding that topic or if something seems unclear, ask me to clarify and I will be happy to do so. Also, if you have any tips or thoughts on that topic, I would be so happy to read them.
Sincerely,
The English-speaking Frenchie 