Why You Should Start Romanticizing Your Everyday Life

If you're part of #mindfulnesstok or even just casually scroll the app, you're bound to hear messages propelling you to become the main character of your life. Tiktok influencer Ashley Ward created a new wave in Tiktok culture when her audio lovingly instructed listeners to romanticize their life went viral. She warns that "if you don't, life will continue to pass you by and all the little things that make it so beautiful will continue to go unnoticed." 70,000 others felt so motivated by her words that they used her sound as a soundtrack to their own lives, constructing videos that highlight their own life moments with beautiful subtleties and nuances. 

Ward isn't the only one channeling main character energy as a form of self-care, though. Content creator @starmasterton speaks the same language in her post that invites followers to do little things like going for a walk, coffee in hand, with music blasting through headphones as a form of intentional self-care. "It sounds stupid and obvious, and corny, " she says, "but that's the stuff that makes life feel special and beautiful and romantic."

It goes without saying that Tiktok has created a digital space that allows us to idealize our lives with voiceover audios and background tunes that cut to curated picturesque scenes. However, there's something to be said about seeing your life as a rom-com or hero story that involves character development and plot twists. It allows for intentional moments or daily rituals to become metaphorical b-roll and, therefore, greater appreciated. Mundane moments like making coffee, reading a book, or coming home after a long day start to feel more intentional and can exist with a greater purpose in what is often a fast-paced and chaotic world. 

This practice is simply mindfulness, says writer and content creator Isabelle Eyman at Camille Styles. She says the mindset shift has allowed her to make life more "awe-inspiring." It can be as simple as dressing up your morning beverage to trading your phone for a book. This perspective realignment infuses intention into life while also putting you back in the control seat. It also happens to feel like a lived-out journal entry.

Be careful not to minimize this sort of romanticization as toxic positivity or narcissism. It is simply having the heightened awareness that there are chapters in life that are intricately filled with moments of pain, beauty, and joy that together unravel as the ebb and flow of life. It's a perspective that sees you as the protagonist who heeds the call to adventure, crosses the threshold, faces ordeals, and seizes the sword — all of which are pivotal points in the hero's journey (via Movie Outline). 

Psychologists are on board with what is now deeper than just a trend. Dr. Loucks, professor of epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, and medicine at Brown University, details in his new book, "The Mindful College Student," how mindfulness has been shown to reduce signs of depression, improve sleep quality, and decrease stress. "Romanticizing your life intersects with mindfulness," he says, and "we're trying to build a life that makes us happy." Main character energy could be the key to not just watching your life unfold but consciously creating it.