How to Romanticize Your Life: The Artistry of Turning the Ordinary into Extraordinary

26% of adults worldwide reported feeling sad. 24% of adults were lonely. 39% were anxious [1] Gallup, Inc. State of the World’s Emotional Health Report. 2025. . But what if I don’t want to live in this pitiful matrix? Breaking free starts with the everyday moments we have complete control over.

Hi, I’m Eireen! I’ve been practicing a whimsical lifestyle for a year now, and I know ball. In this article, I will share my experience on how to romanticize your life and 30 whimsical things you can practice to actually enjoy everyday life.

Romanticizing your life won’t cure you physically or mentally. If you have more profound emotional issues, address them first. Start by assessing your well-being with a test below.

What does it mean to romanticize your life?

Romanticizing life is the intentional appreciation of the joy, comfort, and beauty of daily life so that it appears more whimsical and fun. The pillars of life romanticization are:

1. mindfulness, the practice of being here and now
2. intentionality, a habit of paying attention to good moments
3. positivity, an optimistic mindset
4. protagonist mindset, taking radical ownership of your life

There is a misconception that romanticizing is just a trend of seeing life through pink glasses. I disagree. Because for me, romanticizing doesn’t mean creating something extraordinary but realizing the beauty your life already has.

Romanticizing life is linked to improved mental health. Researchers from Xiamen University in China found that reframing life attitudes from “my life is miserable” to “I can see beauty in this present moment” reduces bad mood and stress [2] Gu, C., Liu, S., & Chen, S. The effect of trait mindfulness on social media rumination: Upward social comparison as a moderated mediator. Frontiers in Psychology. 2022. .

I felt it personally because social media triggered me to be something I wasn’t: chasing money, booking vacations in trendy destinations, forcing “effortless” looks, etc. As soon as I shifted my focus back to the present moment, I became the main character.

It wasn’t easy. I slipped back into comparison spirals multiple times. But eventually I learned to appreciate life’s simple pleasures. Let me show you how.

How to romanticize your life? My personal approach

These rules of a whimsical lifestyle are based on my experience. They are a great start for someone who wants to find joy and feel grateful for what they have.

Know your aesthetics

Aesthetics is a way of experiencing life through certain feelings, dressing, music, places, etc. When I first started to romanticize my life, aesthetics were really helpful because they were a treasure trove of ideas.

Here are my main rules for using aesthetics sustainably:

• Don’t limit yourself to one aesthetic style.
• Practice whatever feels most like you in the moment.
• Use aesthetics for activity inspirations.
• Don’t compare your lifestyle to social media to avoid pressure.
• Don’t be scared of being messy and imperfect.

Here are examples of how different aesthetic styles helped me realize what simple shifts to make to enjoy daily tasks more:

• I created curated music playlists for different weather and special occasions (I even have music for when life feels surreal).
• Goblincore inspired me to collect trinkets from my walks in the forest.
• My boyfriend now calls me “Darling” because I found it whimsical and romantic. So, I took one element from the aesthetic of vintage love, but didn’t follow it to the letter because I didn’t want to.

So, it’s not about putting yourself in a box but about self-exploration. By the way, I highly recommend knowing your personality style because it makes finding your aesthetic(s) significantly easier.

Exaggerate intentionally

Life feels boring or uninteresting because we let it. We compare ourselves to the fancy influencers who’ve already taken their third vacation this year. But it’s just not realistic and too idealized.

Exaggerating intentionality is important. That’s how you make the ordinary moments extraordinary. And that’s precisely how you realize how special your life is. Due to introspection, I noticed I act a certain way when a moment starts to feel more romantic and fun:

• I slow down.
• My plans and worries about tomorrow naturally fade away.
• I take deeper breaths.
• I dance.
• My eyes close (to reduce distractions).

A useful tip: When you have such mindful, inspiring moments, document them. Write about what you did, where, and how. I do this with the Breeze’s mood tracker, and it helps me to find my favorite forms of romanticization.

Just slow down (dilly-dallying)

I realized we completely lost the plot with hustle culture when I saw 20-year-olds complaining they’re “running out of time.” How’s that possible when your brain hasn’t even finished developing?

“Work first, rest after”—that’s how I was brought up. I was lied to. Rest actually should be a priority. Don’t believe me? Then, believe this 2025 study published in Cogent Social Sciences that found that people who feel chronically short on time are more likely to report stress, loneliness, anxiety, and fatigue [3] Jaggi, S. K., & Gupta, D. J. Chronically busy, chronically unhealthy? Understanding the time poverty and health interplay through systematic review synthesis. Cogent Social Sciences. 2025. .

This was a revelation to me. Ever since realizing the absurdity of hustle culture, I’ve created a better personal approach—dilly-dallying! Its main principles are:

• do things for fun
• radiate main character energy
• flirt with life

I don’t want to look back on my life and question myself, “Why didn’t I put more thought into everyday life?” Thus, the main objective of dilly-dallying is to live without regrets and realize that you enjoyed every day in retrospect.

Return to what you loved in childhood

Ever wondered why some people are so nostalgic for the past, even when their lives were objectively lower in quality at the time? It’s the curse and gift of nostalgia.

The older we grow, the more expectations are put on us. Profession, kids, buying a house, the pressure to be serious but not too serious, insurance, insurance, and insurance. 

Naturally, we lose our spark. We lose playfulness.

Rediscovering what you loved in childhood can bring the same joy as when you were basically a blank page with nothing but dreams. I explored my childhood hobbies by:

• rewatching childhood videos/photos
• talking to my parents and siblings
• visiting my childhood home
• talking to different people (they often reminded me of something I forgot I loved)
• switching from digital to analog

Go analog

As soon as I tried small acts of romanticization, my screen time naturally went down.

Analog life means overcoming dependence on technology and embracing offline activities. Why does going analog fit so well in this little romance we call “life romantization”?

• It forces us to slow down.
• It prevents overstimulation and digital fatigue.
• It saves time for more self-care and inspiring hobbies.
• It prevents comparison on social media.

I found it so much easier to focus on my morning routine and be fully present in the moment when I didn’t have to go on my phone. That’s why I got myself a mechanical watch, a film camera, a bedside clock, a physical journal, etc. I switched to things that have only one purpose, unlike using my phone for everything.

30 whimsical things to do to romanticize your life

1. Get up with the sunrise and actually breathe the morning air.
2. Download an app-blocking app to limit phone use in the first two hours of waking up.
3. Send those risky texts to feel alive.
4. Actually call people instead of texting.
5. Shower in candlelight.
6. Have a wish jar beside the bed to end the day with positive affirmations.
7. Collect rocks, shells, buttons, etc., and create a memory box (or a junk journal).
8. Organize a coffee/tea station like a mini coffee shop.
9. Talk to strangers (bonus points if they’re older adults).
10. Wear the weirdest piece of clothing from your wardrobe.
11. Read (or at least buy) a newspaper
12. Replace ordinary ice trays with molds with unique shapes.
13. Film yourself making dinner as if you’re in a cooking show.
14. Write letters to your loved ones.
15. Get yourself prism decorations to create a rainbow in your room (best works with direct sunlight).
16. Braid flowers into your hair.
17. Go down the Wikipedia rabbit hole and make notes.
18. Talk to your pet.
19. Paint your room a more colorful shade.
20. Wear actual pajamas to bed.
21. Stay up all night and stargaze.
22. Go to the earliest movie screening at the movie theater
23. Wear perfume at home
24. Frame love letters and display them in your house.
25. Craft something easy.
26. Make sketches of things you see (clouds, people in a restaurant, trinkets).
27. Take a bubble bath with flower petals.
28. Create a menu with your dinner as if you were in a restaurant.
29. Sit on the kitchen floor with friends and talk about nothing and everything.
30. Take your lunch break outside (even if you have to sit on the stairs).

Is it good to romanticize your life? Potential pitfalls of being a whimsical person

I get the pessimism because life romanticization is a theory. As with every theory, you stumble across complications when putting it into practice. Here are some problems with romanticizing your life:

• Toxic positivity or living in denial of personal/collective problems.
• Performance for a non-existing audience, hence the problem of reward anticipation.
• Overconsumerism.
• Exclusivity, as if romanticization is available only to an elite group of people who can maintain this lifestyle and correspond to certain standards (“pretty privilege”).
• Unhealthy aesthetics, like poetic suffering or the romanticization of mental conditions.

3 Tips to romanticize your life healthily

1. Prioritize self-care. Life romanticization shouldn’t come at the cost of your quality of life. Aim for a healthy lifestyle first: balanced nutrition, healthy sleep, and physical activities.
2. Listen to your inner voice. Life romanticization should be authentic, and intuition will tell you whether what you do is just for aesthetics. Read more on how to strengthen your intuition.
3. Get into therapy. Visiting a therapist helped me to realize that events from my past hold back the authentic version of me. I highly recommend resolving deeper emotional issues first before romanticizing your life.

Romanticizing life without a solid emotional foundation is a band-aid solution. Assess your mental well-being with this simple downloadable template.

Is romanticizing your life just an aesthetic, or does it actually work?

Both.

I personally don’t like to view romanticization of life as an aesthetic. With a certain aesthetic, there are certain expectations. That’s why I believe people fall into the pitfalls described above.

If the romanticization of life must imply a certain aesthetic, I’d prefer this one: the “un-aesthetic” aesthetic. It’s raw and realistic. This romanticization encourages the messiness of life and being imperfect while accepting that everyone is worthy of love.

There hasn’t been a study that would estimate the effectiveness of life romanticization yet. However, the separate elements like mindfulness, cognitive reframing, and gratitude all have scientifically backed benefits:

• CBT techniques reduce symptoms of depression by 20-30% [4] Sarca, M., Cojocaru, A., Dumache, R., Bernad, B. C., Nussbaum, L. A., Costea, I., Anghel, T., & Hogea, L. The Effects of Mindfulness Techniques on Anxiety, Depression, and Stress, with an Emphasis on Gratitude: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Healthcare (Basel). 2026. .
• Being grateful increases life satisfaction by 7%.
• Gratitude also reduces anxiety by 8% [5] Kyeong, S., Kim, J., Kim, D. J., Kim, H. E., & Kim, J. Effects of gratitude meditation on neural network functional connectivity and brain-heart coupling. Scientific Reports. 2017. .
• Mindfulness makes you more self-aware.

Final remarks

The skeptics don’t believe romanticizing works because “What is there to romanticize in a collapsing world?” This is a totally valid point that can eventually lead to depression.

Yes, the world might be discouraging. Does it mean that we should accept our helplessness? Or is it better to realize that we have sway over our own lives and can use it to make the world a better place? I’d rather stick to the second option, thanks.

And we all need a little whimsy. What’s the harm in loving your life the way it already is?

Sources (accessed April 2026):

1. Gallup, Inc. State of the World’s Emotional Health Report. 2025.
2. Gu, C., Liu, S., & Chen, S. The effect of trait mindfulness on social media rumination: Upward social comparison as a moderated mediator. Frontiers in Psychology. 2022.
3. Jaggi, S. K., & Gupta, D. J. Chronically busy, chronically unhealthy? Understanding the time poverty and health interplay through systematic review synthesis. Cogent Social Sciences. 2025.
4. Sarca, M., Cojocaru, A., Dumache, R., Bernad, B. C., Nussbaum, L. A., Costea, I., Anghel, T., & Hogea, L. The Effects of Mindfulness Techniques on Anxiety, Depression, and Stress, with an Emphasis on Gratitude: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Healthcare (Basel). 2026.
5. Kyeong, S., Kim, J., Kim, D. J., Kim, H. E., & Kim, J. Effects of gratitude meditation on neural network functional connectivity and brain-heart coupling. Scientific Reports. 2017.