No one ever said that life was easy. We are always struggling with one thing or the other, no matter the age or stage of our lives. A newborn struggles to crawl, a crawler is hell bent on standing and walking, a toddler doesn't want to go to school and a teenager refuses to get sensible and grow up. And that's just the beginning. At the end of the school period, we are fighting to get into our dream college and if we manage to get into it, at the completion of the course, we are in a do or die situation of grabbing the coveted job placement. Of course the struggle doesn't end there. There's getting married phase, and the ability/inability to conceive and raising the kid/kids thereafter. I just deliver a talk a few days back on World IVF Day at an IVF centre and believe me the level of stress those TTC moms are going through is unimaginable. 

And when life looks smooth from outside and apparently is, we go through midlife crisis. And older age comes with a bigger set of challenges, physical health deteriorates and so does emotional conditions, if our needs are not met. What I have discovered over years of counselling individuals is that our problems would never stop. We got to learn how to handle them. The trick? Romanticizing the little things in life. While a mother dealing with infertility might believe that all her troubles would come to an end, once she gives birth. However, the truth is that we can't tie our happiness and expectations to our child, no matter how convenient and natural that seems to be. Children inadvertently are the biggest reason of disappointment in older age, not because they are ungrateful or unworthy but because our expectations from them are too high. 

Making oneself self sufficient is the first step in not disappointing ourselves and romanticizing life's little pleasures is a stepping stone for a happier life. 

So what are the ways of romanticizing the mundane things in daily life? 

1. Make your beverage time a ritual. Whether you are a doodh chai lover or black coffee, latte drinker or matcha girlie, make your beverage time sacred. Dedicate a special area to sip, and take out your favorite cup or mug. Keep your favorite book or magazine or simply stare your plants, if you are drinking in your balcony. You will love spending time with yourself. Who says romanticizing life involves expensive Starbucks or a date? You can do it right in your home! 

2. Elevate your space. A big chunk of romanticizing life comes from the environment around us. Tidy up and elevate your space. This has got nothing to do with budget. If you can throw money at it, give your space a makeover. And if not, just tidying up, getting rid of stuff that no longer serves you and adding little details like plants, lamps and candles will beautify your space and mood. 

3. Journal daily. While therapy is invaluable, daily therapy is impractical for most mortals like us. There are a myriad of things that bother us on a daily basis and we are dying to vent them out. Use your journal as therapy. Your journal is the most non judgemental space you will ever come across. Just pour your heart out. Yoh will immediately feel relieved. And romanticizing journaling can be done by using a pretty diary and decorating it, using a cute pen and falling in love with writing all over again. 

4. Treat movement as a gift. Exercise is not a chore. It's our greatest privilege. Ask this to someone who's in a wheelchair. So why not treat movement as a gift? We should thank our bodies every single time we complete that run or complete 10k steps. Moving your body, be it fancy Pilates or good old walking, training for a Marathon or home stretching, exercise is free dopamine and one of the most efficient mood uplifters. Romanticizing life involves having a sound mind and body, and movement is an integral part of it. 

5. Curate your closet and dress up nicely. Feeling good is an intrinsic part of romanticizing life. Use that bright shade lipstick and take out your favorite perfume! Get rid of clothes that no longer fit you or you don't like them; irrespective of how much you spent to buy them.

Little fancy steps every single day, makes you fall in love with your life, and is completely necessary, especially if you are feeling blah! 

This post was created for the Blogaberry Creative (August) Challenge with theme word (romanticizing).