Remember when you were younger and you used to pretend you were the main character of a movie or a music video, or was that just me?
The other day, I came across a video that reminded me about how important it is to romanticize life. It reminded me that each day is a gift and that perspective is really so important. As someone who suffers from some heavy anxiety and depression, it is easy for me to lose sight of the beauty in life when going through the rough patches. It got me thinking about all of the things that happen on a day to day basis that I take for granted. For example, waking up and going to work every day has become such a task and nothing is exciting about it to me anymore, but then I thought back to the times that I used to dream of having a job and being a grown up. When I was younger, this life was my fantasy or what I would look forward to. However, sadly now that it's here, it doesn’t seem nearly as exciting and fun as I had imagined it. When I thought about why, I realized that it was my perspective that needed changing. I began to understand how desperately I needed to start being more excited about the things that I once dreamed about. In an effort to do so, I’ve been doing a lot of introspection and intentionally thinking about the times that I prayed for the things and moments that I have now.
I can acknowledge and admit that life certainly is not going quite the way I planned it, but every day I’m learning to trust and see the beauty in it.
While looking inward, I noticed some things. I wasn’t putting in much effort into how I dress or do my makeup. Because my face is now covered by a mask for about 85% of the day, I stopped wearing makeup all together. Now there is nothing wrong with that, but I realized that putting on a little bit of makeup and wearing cute clothes actually lifts my mood and makes things a little bit more exciting on a day to day basis. Next I realized that it was becoming way too easy for me to get stuck in a routine of going to work and coming straight home without seeing anyone else (thanks corona!) but now I consciously make more of an effort to see or at least Facetime my friends. Lastly, I realized that I have this picture in my head of how I expected life to be as a 27 year old. Owning my own home, married to a man I love, thriving in a career that I love with plenty of friends and family constantly surrounding me, filled with laughs and happy tears. While that is still the dream, I am honest with myself and learning to be happy right here right now, despite not achieving all the things that I pictured (yet).
Some anchors when romanticizing your life:
Know that your life and your happiness are your responsibility
Perspective is everything
Life is about becoming your own soulmate
I cannot stress enough that romanticizing yourself does not mean that you ignore reality and pretend that everything is great. I am not encouraging toxic positivity or disillusionment. Rather, it means that you make a conscious decision to love your life for ALL that it is. The goal is not to ignore all the bad parts of life, but rather to learn to see the beauty in the good, the bad, and the ugly.
You are the main character of your life. If you want a beautiful life, you need to put in the effort to make it so. Change the things that you don’t like and make sure that you take the time to appreciate the things that you do like. You have the power to do that. In the social media world especially, it is so easy to look at someone else’s life in envy and compare our lives to someone’s Instagram highlight reel. I have a new suggestion: be your own Instagram highlight reel. Make the conscious decision to fall in love with your life today!
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