Romanticize Your Main Character Energy

There are two phrases that have been spreading around social media quite a bit recently. And it seems that the worse the world gets, the more we hear about them. “Romanticize your life” is one, and “main character energy” is the other. I love both of these concepts. And even though at first they may seem like two different ways to say the exact same thing, I think there are distinctions that make it important to incorporate both into your habitual thinking and daily rituals.

Romanticize your life: Look at the small things, and remember that the small things are the big things. Be mindful. Appreciate. When you wake up in the morning, stretch and luxuriate in the comfort of your bed. Marvel at how every muscle has relaxed into the softness of your mattress as you slept in the night. Turn your head to the window and see the dust floating in the sunbeams, or if it is still dark, the birds starting to quietly chirp the sun to rising. All this you can experience before your feet even touch the floor.

Main character energy: See yourself as the protagonist to your own experiences. One of the main ways this comes across, at least in my own interpretation of the phrase, is…don’t be afraid to be unique. To wear things or do things that make you stand out as different, as long as you are being true to what feels right for you and it doesn’t harm anyone else.

I recently watched an episode of Queer Eye in which Tan, the host in charge of style and fashion, was speaking to the person who was the “project” for the week. He gestured to his outfit and said “look at me. I look ridiculous, don’t I? But you know what? I feel amazing. I feel like me.” I instantly saw his, admittedly bizarre to my eyes, ensemble in a different light. He truly embodied main character energy and did what felt absolutely right to him.

The trend of people seeking main character energy can grow toxic, however, in at least a couple of ways. Some people interpret this concept as meaning “the world should revolve around me” or “I am more important than anyone else.” But think about the main character of any given story. Okay, sure, sometimes they happen to be “the chosen one” if you’re reading an epic sword and sorcery novel. But more often than not, they are the main character simply because the story is told from their perspective, and interesting things are happening in their life.

Main character energy should be a reminder to us in one succinct phrase that we are the only ones experiencing life the exact way that we are. But also that anyone can have main character energy, because we all are the main characters in our own life experience. And we all have interesting things happening in our lives, the more of which occurs if we are looking out for it by romanticizing our lives.

For that reason then, if you’re standing in a field of wildflowers and get the urge to dance, and glancing over to your right you see another stranger doing the same, there’s no need to compete for more of the story. It’s all of our stories.

So celebrate those who are able to break out of expectations and pressures and live life to the fullest. The crow who calls from the trees might simply be talking to another corvid, but if hearing his raspy greeting at just the right time speaks to you as a message from the universe, then who’s to say it isn’t also true? Life is full of contradictions: the simplest of happenings can hold multiple meanings. People can all be their own main characters in their own stories. And a little life can hold so, so much meaning if you pay attention.

Romanticize your life, you main character you. I’ll try to as well.