Romanticize Your Life When you Feel Numb
Hello Cool-Girls ! I keep seeing everywhere that in order to feel alive, you have to “romanticize your life”. When I first saw that, I thought, here we go another trend to follow. Then I asked myself, what does that even mean ? Singing a serenade to your lover ? Writing poetry ? Romanticism isn’t limited to love stories, it’s the expression of the full spectrum of our emotions. This desire to return to romanticism is, above all, a desire to reconnect with ourselves and with the earth. It also reflects a need to detach from a reality that feels hard to face, times are tough…
Romanticism, as a literary movement, also emerged in the 19th century, a period just as troubled. We might think that retreating into our inner world is unhealthy, that we’re escaping instead of confronting this new reality. And yet, romanticism influences a world that feels adrift. It frees our emotions, reconnects us to the present moment, and softens our hearts, making us more aware of our actions. I’m going to show you how to be part of this movement starting now.
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1. Surround yourself with beauty to romanticize your life
Romanticism invites contemplation into your daily life, it’s a certain way of seeing the world. When we get swept away by our routines, we forget the magic around us and more importantly, that we can create our own magic.
For example, on a summer evening, you could go out to the countryside and spend the night watching the stars. If you live in a big city and don’t have access to nature, you can treat yourself from time to time to a bouquet of your favorite flowers. Every time you walk past them, you’ll be able to pause and admire them.
And for those with a bigger budget, I suggest visiting what we call a “museum city” like Paris or Florence. But instead of following a perfectly planned itinerary, simply explore the city on foot. Wander through the small streets people usually overlook. Let yourself absorb the city’s energy.
You may have understood by now: romanticism is about lifting your eyes for a moment to honor the beauty that exists everywhere.
If, despite all this, you still struggle to see beauty in small things, I might have something for you. Are you brave ? Yes ?
Then fall in love. That is the height of romanticism. When you fall in love, everything becomes beautiful. Your senses are heightened.
It makes me wonder whether Marcelle Auclair was right: is life without love truly worth living ?
2. Choose slow activities
Most of us spend our time running, not because it’s our natural state, but because modern life demands it. And when we finally get a little time for ourselves, we tend to keep up that same pace because we want to optimize our free time.
But in the end, are we really enjoying ourselves when we multiply activities to the point that we come back more exhausted than before ? Isn’t the purpose of these moments supposed to be to recharge our minds ?
So why not simply follow a rhythm that aligns more closely with our nature and just be present ?
On Sunday, you can choose an activity that soothes your mind after a busy week. In the spring, plan a walk in nature without music and take the time to look around at the trees, listen to the birds singing, feel the earth beneath your feet. In the summer, go have a coffee on a terrace and watch people passing by. During the fall, sit on a bench in a park and read a good book. In the winter, cook your favorite meal for yourself.
3. Reduce your consumption of high-stimulation content
Today, algorithms have deeply influenced the way we consume content. The goal of platforms is to keep our attention for as long as possible. To do that, they prioritize high-stimulation content, fast-paced videos, eye-catching visuals and emotionally charged material designed to keep us engaged. Of course, high-stimulation content is not inherently inauthentic. The issue is not intensity itself, but the intention behind it
Beyond “stealing” our time, some of this content is created less for authenticity and more for attention. Platforms are optimized for what performs well, which means you might miss out on content that feels more genuine.
When content becomes less authentic, it loses its creative spontaneity and raw creativity is the driving force of romanticism.
So how can we reconnect with that raw creativity ? By being intentional about our entertainment choices.
I believe low-stimulation content partially responds to this issue. By low stimulation, I don’t mean boring content, but content that gives you the time to appreciate its creation. That time is what our natural rhythm needs to process and absorb information.
The transition toward low-stimulation content can happen gradually. Personally, I started listening to lo-fi music, which reflects this philosophy. Then I began watching low-stimulation shows for adult like Virgin River. And recently, I unfollowed big creators on social media who had lost that spark, choosing instead to follow smaller creators whose content may be less polished, but feels unique and sincere.
4. Express your emotions to romanticize your life
The embodiment of romanticism is also the expression of emotions in the physical world. The emotions you feel hold immense power, they are fuel you can use to energize your inner engine. These emotions reflect your inner world; they are messages that can become harmful if repressed.
If you’re not yet comfortable with this idea, you can start by putting your thoughts, feelings or fears down on paper. It can have a cathartic and beneficial effect, you’ll feel lighter and over time, you’ll understand yourself better.
If words are not your strength, then use your body to release that emotional charge. When you feel sad or angry, put on rhythmic music and dance. The goal isn’t to perform a perfect choreography, but simply to move. Let yourself be carried by the music and by your sensations.
Throughout the history of romanticism, many artists, such as Victor Hugo, also used their art to express their anger at the injustices of the world. So if you are a modern-day artist, you can draw inspiration from this movement by using your ideals to transform your art.
5. Practice Gentleness
Living romantically isn’t only something you experience inwardly, it’s something you can spread around you. A simple smile can brighten a stranger’s day, and who knows, maybe they’ll pass it on. These small daily acts of kindness make the world more bearable.
The next time you go to your local shop, don’t hesitate to make small talk, ask how the person is doing and wish them a lovely day. For many, it may seem like a small detail, but it’s what reminds us of our humanity in a harsh world.
You can also start a conversation with an elderly person who might need someone to talk to. Sometimes they speak to us while we’re waiting in line at a store. It may feel insignificant to us, but you might be the only person they’ve spoken to in days.
Our humanity isn’t expressed only between people, we also have a responsibility toward animals. When I was a child, I loved feeding the ducks. It’s a timeless moment that reconnects us with the simplicity of nature, while also filling their stomachs.
6. Free your imagination
Imagination is a pillar of romanticism. For many of us, it reminds us of childhood something that gradually fades as we grow into adulthood. When we decide to reconnect with that world after many years, it can feel difficult. We may feel incapable of imagining. We may feel a sense of emptiness, a sign that we’ve also become disconnected from our innate feminine energy.
Why ? Because adult life prioritizes reason and we tend to believe that reason and imagination cannot coexist. We slowly distance ourselves from the imaginative hobbies that once made our eyes shine, dismissing them as childish or unproductive and focusing instead on our adult responsibilities.
So how can you reconnect with your creative spark ? Free your mind.
You can start by immersing yourself in someone else’s imagination, or example, by reading a fantasy novel and allowing yourself to be carried away by the story. This first step helps open your mind.
Then, you can reconnect with your own imagination through immersive activities. One that has become popular on TikTok in recent years and that I find incredible is projecting a “window” onto your bedroom wall using a projector. You can find these window simulations on YouTube by searching for “window projector” along with a theme of your choice. The possibilities are endless.
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You can also draw from your own imagination through your dreams. Keep a small journal next to your bed and write down ideas that emerge from your subconscious when you wake up.
Finally, the best way to free your imagination is by expressing it through art. Not all of us have the talent of a great artist and that’s okay. Fortunately, modern tools exist. For example, you can buy a watercolor book where the drawings are already outlined. All you have to do is fill them in with the colors of your choice.
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