Romanticising your life could be the secret to finding joy in small moments

romanticising your life

Credit: Getty

Wellbeing


Romanticising your life could be the secret to finding joy in small moments

By Jess Bacon

2 years ago

4 min read

Living for the weekend or the next holiday is out. Here’s the life-changing social trend that’s championing finding joy in mundane everyday activities. 


Unless you’ve assumed an off-grid existence in recent years, it’s likely you’ve come across the suggestion that you should ‘romanticise your life’. It’s a trend that encourages revelling in life’s simple pleasures: that first sip of coffee in the morning, listening to sweet birdsong, basking in golden hour light or reading in the garden.

Think cottagecore meets slow living – romanticising your life is about appreciating what you already have. There’s no pressure to overhaul your life, splurge on new workout gear or reinvent your entire personality; it’s not even about changing your routine – it’s all about amplifying the positive, calm elements of your existence. 

Born out of the pandemic, when travel was restricted and socialising was off the cards, the wholesome movement flourished. It leans into the practice of mindfulness – to be present in the moment and pay attention to your thoughts, senses and surroundings in a non-judgmental way.

The days of ‘living for the weekend’ or the next holiday are long gone, as people try to live each day with more purpose to find joy in unavoidable, everyday activities.

Courtney Halverson, the blogger behind the bewitching Pretty Little Fawn account, brings a vintage cottagecore aesthetic to the trend as she encourages her followers to indulge in the slow moments. 

Through a window, Halverson lies on a picnic blanket in her plush green garden. She lovingly cuddles her dog as the audio says: “You’ll never regret romanticising your life; take the smallest moments and make them into something beautiful.”

Over summer, romanticising your life is enjoying another renaissance in its alter ego form, ‘soft girl summer’, which prioritises relaxing, reading and being out in nature (the flip-side, if you like, to hot girl summer, which is all about looking your best, working out, eating greens and partying). 

Over on TikTok, #RomanticiseYourLife has amassed a staggering 1.5 billion views, while the same tag on Instagram offers 122,000 posts of women baking, stirring iced coffees, having croissants in bed, buying themselves flowers and writing gratitude lists. Even the morning commute is documented, as users attempt to make even a ride on the New York subway endearing.

While some people might cringe at the overly rose-tinted worldview of going through the motions, Sophie Cliff (aka the joyful coach) is convinced it could help us reframe our mindset and boost our happiness.

“Challenging yourself to romanticise your average every day is a great way to add more joy to your life,” she explains. “Elevating small parts of your routine – for example, fully leaning into the ritual of brewing a cup of tea or carving out 10 minutes for a walk at golden hour – helps us to savour the present moment more, which has tons of benefits, including improving our wellbeing and reducing comparison.”

She adds: “Plus, you’re much more likely to enjoy your average every day, rather than saving all of your joy for weekends or holidays.”

By appreciating the small things, advocates of the trend are noticing that they see the good in their circumstances more often. The trend has elements of positive psychology and the viral Danish concept of hygge, which suggests minimalism and cosy comfort are among the secrets to happiness. Rather than comparing themselves to others on social media – a curse that disproportionally affects women – followers of this movement have found more contentment in their own aesthetic existence.

Over a picturesque reel with snippets of life by the sea, runs in her coastal town, paddleboarding, tucking into pizza or solo walks, Rhianna Crisp sums it up perfectly. “I don’t know if things do keep getting better, if I’ve just got better at looking for the good or if it’s a case that the more you start to look for the good, the better things actually start to get.

“But what I do know is you have absolutely nothing to lose by romanticising your life. It costs you nothing, it hurts no one, and realistically, the time’s going to pass anyway and you’re going to keep on doing those tiny, boring, mundane everyday things that you have the power to romanticise and find the good in.

It finishes: “It does take a conscious effort to shift that mindset but that power of perspective has the power to change your entire life.”

The glass-half-full approach resonates with others too, as it feels more accessible to find joy in a moment in nature or a mid-morning cuppa than it does to hustle for the next lavish holiday, especially in a cost of living crisis. The trend gives us the ‘main character’ energy we’re looking for, allowing us to focus on what’s within our control and take the time to enjoy the small, satisfying moments that make us feel alive. 

Images: Getty

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