WEBVTT 00:00.031 --> 00:03.136 [SPEAKER_00]: Hello everyone and welcome back to room for us. 00:03.697 --> 00:05.360 [SPEAKER_00]: A space where queer voices thrive. 00:05.961 --> 00:07.764 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host P and every single week. 00:07.824 --> 00:12.491 [SPEAKER_00]: I like to sit down and get vulnerable and talk about all things queer with all of you. 00:12.511 --> 00:17.660 [SPEAKER_00]: If you're new here, thank you so much for stumbling across this page. 00:17.940 --> 00:18.401 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a nice one. 00:18.421 --> 00:18.982 [SPEAKER_00]: I think about it. 00:19.042 --> 00:24.010 [SPEAKER_00]: I've been hosting this podcast for four years now, a little over four years. 00:24.171 --> 00:25.633 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to say and I 00:25.613 --> 00:37.980 [SPEAKER_00]: I've truly just discovered how much joy getting on here every week to talk about feelings, talk about queerness, talk about representation, how happy that really really makes me. 00:38.020 --> 00:41.327 [SPEAKER_00]: For those of you who don't know too much about the podcast, 00:41.307 --> 00:45.452 [SPEAKER_00]: It actually originally started as an idea with my best friend, Sarah. 00:45.492 --> 00:46.613 [SPEAKER_00]: We launched it in 2021. 00:46.753 --> 00:48.636 [SPEAKER_00]: It was called Girl On Girl. 00:48.736 --> 00:52.620 [SPEAKER_00]: And we were hosting Girl On Girl together for many, many years. 00:52.741 --> 00:57.106 [SPEAKER_00]: I actually started hosting room for us earlier this year on my own. 00:57.226 --> 00:59.088 [SPEAKER_00]: And I took over Girl On Girl last year. 00:59.148 --> 01:03.433 [SPEAKER_00]: So it's been fairly new that I've been recording this podcast on my own. 01:03.473 --> 01:06.657 [SPEAKER_00]: For Sarah and I, it was very much like a... 01:06.637 --> 01:11.504 [SPEAKER_00]: new passion project we dove into, but we just had the most fun with it. 01:11.584 --> 01:17.292 [SPEAKER_00]: We had interviews with some incredible guests, people like Phoebe Dobson, for example, was one of our guests. 01:17.533 --> 01:24.623 [SPEAKER_00]: And we got to be part of Toronto's Pride, actually like a Pride event in 2022 at Adelaide Hall. 01:24.683 --> 01:35.158 [SPEAKER_00]: So sometimes I sit back and think about the podcast, how much joy it's given me and how much this community 01:35.138 --> 01:53.270 [SPEAKER_00]: So important and incredible in my life and I just wanted to stop for a moment and thank you all Thank you to every single person who makes room for us part of their day and to the listeners who even tuned into girl on girl And have been continuing to listen to me speak every week. 01:53.691 --> 01:56.556 [SPEAKER_00]: I can't express how 01:56.536 --> 02:14.646 [SPEAKER_00]: grateful and how warm this makes my heart because growing up I didn't see a lot of representation and there actually wasn't a lot of queer media for me to consume at the time and to talk about Queerness every single week and also how proud I am to be queer and for me to share my story and 02:14.626 --> 02:42.473 [SPEAKER_00]: share other people's stories on the podcast has been such an honor and I've just been feeling especially giddy about it and especially grateful so I just wanted to take this moment to say thank you thank you so much for keeping up with the podcast and I'm so excited to continue releasing episodes for you and hopefully getting on some more awesome guests as we roll into 2026 so for this episode topic 02:42.453 --> 03:08.258 [SPEAKER_00]: talked about this briefly on an Instagram story where I wanted to ask all of you what are ways you romanticize your life and the reason why this topic came to me when I was thinking of something for the week is that I had such a beautiful conversation with one of my closest friends and we were voice noting back and forth for a while like sending each other like lengthy voice notes. 03:08.238 --> 03:31.950 [SPEAKER_00]: and in one of those conversations my friend was talking about as she has like more responsibilities and things tend to get more mundane basically she loves to add elements into her chores or her routines that kind of add a little bit of like a joy to it or there's like a I like to use the word romanticized because it's almost like you're picturing yourself in a movie and 03:31.930 --> 03:43.771 [SPEAKER_00]: And her example to me was when she declines her house, she loves to light a candle and listen to music and make a whole thing of it because it can take up to a couple hours. 03:43.891 --> 03:46.956 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, she literally owns a home, which is huge. 03:47.578 --> 03:55.812 [SPEAKER_00]: So I loved that because over the last month or so, I found myself in a pretty tough spot with my mental health. 03:55.792 --> 04:03.802 [SPEAKER_00]: And I live in Vancouver, it gets very rainy here, it gets very dark, so I was feeling very, very low. 04:03.822 --> 04:11.953 [SPEAKER_00]: I was noticing that the seasonal depression was really, really getting to me, and I was having a tough time seeing the bright side of things, truly. 04:11.973 --> 04:24.128 [SPEAKER_00]: I found I was waking up very irritable in the mornings, not really like getting myself ready, getting together, so I wasn't feeling myself, and just working, and then 04:24.108 --> 04:30.659 [SPEAKER_00]: it would be dark out and then I wouldn't really have much motivation to do much to be honest. 04:30.699 --> 04:31.961 [SPEAKER_00]: I was kind of feeling low. 04:32.021 --> 04:36.368 [SPEAKER_00]: I would just want to watch a movie and kind of just like sing into a bit of a social media hole. 04:36.749 --> 04:44.582 [SPEAKER_00]: And that was happening for a few weeks and I was kind of thinking like, I need to snap out of this because this doesn't really feel like me. 04:44.622 --> 04:49.390 [SPEAKER_00]: And when I brought this up to Crystal, my partner, 04:49.370 --> 05:01.545 [SPEAKER_00]: She was kind of saying, I think you have to learn how to really shift your mindset because, at the end of the day, you can complain about the weather all you want because my main thing was like, well, the weather is just so horrible. 05:01.625 --> 05:04.989 [SPEAKER_00]: So when it's raining so much, I don't feel like going out. 05:05.509 --> 05:07.612 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't feel like going to the gym. 05:07.732 --> 05:08.853 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to go for a walk. 05:08.974 --> 05:09.815 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to get wet. 05:09.895 --> 05:11.817 [SPEAKER_00]: Like I always had an excuse for everything. 05:11.797 --> 05:17.846 [SPEAKER_00]: and not getting my steps in first of all for a little bit there was probably really really bad. 05:18.527 --> 05:33.789 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think it's very proven that in order to have a very healthy mindset it's really important to have some form of exercise throughout the day and that could be something as simple as just even walking for a few minutes outside like that can really make a difference and breathing that fresh air. 05:34.149 --> 05:40.318 [SPEAKER_00]: So I was having a tough time doing that and when Crystal mentioned the 05:40.298 --> 06:03.690 [SPEAKER_00]: She was like, you could be even somewhere very, very sunny, but if you have this type of mindset where it comes easy to you to kind of start complaining, you're going to find something wrong even if you're in Mexico, or maybe when you're there, you might all of a sudden be thinking, oh, I miss the fall weather, or I miss the snow when I lived in Ontario. 06:03.670 --> 06:09.602 [SPEAKER_00]: I think when we already have that conditioning in our brain, it can turn into a really bad habit. 06:10.003 --> 06:21.325 [SPEAKER_00]: And I've never really been that person before that I've always been complaining, but I noticed like the irritability coming out of me more recently, I've mentioned this. 06:21.305 --> 06:23.087 [SPEAKER_00]: work very early hours. 06:23.688 --> 06:31.278 [SPEAKER_00]: So especially when it's the holiday season and it gets darker outside, when I wake up, it's like pitch plaque. 06:31.779 --> 06:39.009 [SPEAKER_00]: And then when I sign off, luckily it is early afternoon, but because it's been very gray and Vancouver, it still feels dark. 06:39.029 --> 06:45.438 [SPEAKER_00]: So I was having a really tough time with that, but when Crystal mentioned to me, I think you just need to try and shift your mindset also. 06:45.498 --> 06:48.662 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't spend so much time on social media. 06:48.642 --> 07:07.351 [SPEAKER_00]: try and look into the things that make you feel grateful and it doesn't have to be this like false positivity but think about the things that you are doing daily that do bring you some joy because there's also a lot of privilege I have in the type of job I work or I don't have to commute. 07:07.471 --> 07:12.118 [SPEAKER_00]: I actually have full freedom to either work from my apartment or 07:12.098 --> 07:14.101 [SPEAKER_00]: go to a coffee shop if I'd really like to. 07:14.141 --> 07:22.253 [SPEAKER_00]: And I feel like being in those spaces for the way I am as a person really really helps me creatively. 07:22.594 --> 07:27.782 [SPEAKER_00]: So Crystal brought up the mindset shift idea to me and I heard it. 07:28.022 --> 07:31.006 [SPEAKER_00]: I remember feeling like, okay, yeah, we'll see if that works. 07:31.067 --> 07:31.407 [SPEAKER_00]: But 07:31.387 --> 07:49.095 [SPEAKER_00]: It really did start to work because in that conversation with Crystal was also around the time I was having that same conversation with my really good friend and I was thinking, wow, I feel like my friend, her name's Christine, she is really good at shifting her mindset. 07:49.596 --> 07:55.285 [SPEAKER_00]: And I think once you have a really strong mindset, you're actually capable of doing a lot. 07:55.265 --> 07:55.926 [SPEAKER_00]: in your life. 07:56.006 --> 08:03.121 [SPEAKER_00]: Like whether you have big dreams or there's things you want to accomplish, it can really like show on you. 08:03.261 --> 08:10.816 [SPEAKER_00]: And I always spoke about Christine in a way where I would say like, when you meet her, her energy is truly sunshine. 08:10.876 --> 08:12.459 [SPEAKER_00]: Like she exudes that energy. 08:12.700 --> 08:13.982 [SPEAKER_00]: And I was thinking, 08:13.962 --> 08:17.629 [SPEAKER_00]: I feel like the way her mind works is a huge part of that. 08:18.069 --> 08:22.257 [SPEAKER_00]: So when she sets something so simple to me, like, yeah, when I'm cleaning, I make a whole thing of it. 08:22.537 --> 08:25.102 [SPEAKER_00]: I like to do the candle and I listen to music. 08:25.703 --> 08:27.807 [SPEAKER_00]: I was like, that is very, very beautiful. 08:27.847 --> 08:34.519 [SPEAKER_00]: It's taking a mundane task or something you might be dreading, but turning it into something fun for yourself. 08:34.499 --> 08:36.303 [SPEAKER_00]: and it's such a release too. 08:36.964 --> 08:55.039 [SPEAKER_00]: So I wanted to talk about for all of you and what I'm going to start doing as well is three ways you can start romanticizing your life and you can start today and like bring that into the new year and see how it can maybe improve your mental health because 08:55.019 --> 09:03.993 [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes we do get really stuck in these mundane routines, depending on what your career is, depending on where you're at in life right now, what you're up to. 09:04.033 --> 09:07.839 [SPEAKER_00]: Not everything can always feel so exciting all the time. 09:07.879 --> 09:09.442 [SPEAKER_00]: It's just human nature. 09:09.502 --> 09:10.183 [SPEAKER_00]: It just happens. 09:10.263 --> 09:10.984 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a part of life. 09:11.465 --> 09:14.850 [SPEAKER_00]: But it's like, what can we do to... 09:14.830 --> 09:16.953 [SPEAKER_00]: create these like really special moments. 09:17.494 --> 09:26.487 [SPEAKER_00]: And as I've been doing it, I've been noticing that my mental health has been improving tremendously despite, you know, being deep into rain cover. 09:27.288 --> 09:32.315 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm actually kind of starting to embrace it a little bit and be like, you know what, the rain is not so bad. 09:32.335 --> 09:35.860 [SPEAKER_00]: I have kind of started to find ways to 09:35.840 --> 09:38.963 [SPEAKER_00]: enjoy it and bring little bits of joy throughout my day. 09:39.003 --> 09:48.353 [SPEAKER_00]: The number one thing I would say if you want to start romanticizing your life is you should actually turn your everyday routines into rituals. 09:48.713 --> 10:04.429 [SPEAKER_00]: Every single day you might call something a routine like you have your routine in the morning before you start work or you have your routine after work but instead of calling it a routine I think you should call it a ritual for yourself because that can actually make it like 10:04.409 --> 10:05.590 [SPEAKER_00]: a beautiful moment. 10:05.891 --> 10:10.156 [SPEAKER_00]: For example, if every single morning you wake up and you make a cup of coffee. 10:10.196 --> 10:19.988 [SPEAKER_00]: Instead of just like going to your machine, making your coffee, going about your day, turning on your laptop or commuting to work, whatever you do, making it like a special moment for yourself. 10:20.108 --> 10:33.825 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you can like use a really special mug, play like a calm and meditative playlist, go to the window, even step outside if you can step out on your balcony, like breathe in that 10:33.805 --> 10:41.845 [SPEAKER_00]: And when you turn these like small habits into very intentional rituals, it can actually make your day feel very cinematic. 10:42.446 --> 10:48.000 [SPEAKER_00]: And this is kind of what I like to do in the morning when I wake up super, super early. 10:48.040 --> 10:50.045 [SPEAKER_00]: So I work at 6am. 10:50.406 --> 10:51.308 [SPEAKER_00]: And 10:51.288 --> 10:59.980 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not really a morning person at all, but I've been working EST hours while I'm in Vancouver and I've been doing that for the past like seven months. 11:00.601 --> 11:02.223 [SPEAKER_00]: So I've gotten used to it. 11:02.524 --> 11:05.788 [SPEAKER_00]: And now I'm starting to get into like a groove where like it's okay. 11:06.209 --> 11:13.639 [SPEAKER_00]: I know it's still dark when I wake up, but I'm kind of making those like quiet hours in the morning to myself, those special moments. 11:13.840 --> 11:19.928 [SPEAKER_00]: And what I mean by that is when I wake up, the first thing I try to do 11:19.908 --> 11:21.029 [SPEAKER_00]: at a decent time. 11:21.149 --> 11:24.693 [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm not just waking up a few minutes before like I need to start work. 11:24.973 --> 11:26.754 [SPEAKER_00]: That can get really really dangerous. 11:26.875 --> 11:38.085 [SPEAKER_00]: I think when you are working remotely because people think, you know, you work remotely so you should like wake up a few minutes before get up turn on your laptop and you're good to go. 11:38.285 --> 11:41.048 [SPEAKER_00]: You're not even like getting ready like first thing in the morning. 11:41.088 --> 11:43.330 [SPEAKER_00]: You're kind of just up and you do it. 11:43.510 --> 11:49.476 [SPEAKER_00]: And to be honest, I was doing that for a while because I was having a hard time waking up so early in the morning. 11:49.456 --> 12:00.710 [SPEAKER_00]: But what I've started to do is now I wake up in a decent time before I technically have to start tuning into meetings, start addressing emails, I'll wake up and I slowly kind of get ready. 12:00.990 --> 12:05.456 [SPEAKER_00]: I have very, very curly hair and I've just been wearing it natural recently. 12:05.576 --> 12:10.763 [SPEAKER_00]: So like what I try to do is make sure I wet my hair again with my spray bottle, just get it ready. 12:11.223 --> 12:18.973 [SPEAKER_00]: That's something I had to do because I was getting into the habit of just like time I 12:18.953 --> 12:20.395 [SPEAKER_00]: or would be like an MSE bun. 12:20.696 --> 12:28.649 [SPEAKER_00]: Now I always apply a little bit of makeup in the morning, even if it's like first thing, just something to kind of freshen up for the day. 12:28.689 --> 12:34.920 [SPEAKER_00]: And I will make my coffee and 12:34.900 --> 12:53.803 [SPEAKER_00]: When I do that I only drink my coffee like an hour later after I've actually woken up so I'll drink water first thing which has been game changer just making sure I start with like hydration right in the morning and I actually spend a lot of quality time with my two cats because they are up when I'm up so. 12:53.783 --> 13:09.167 [SPEAKER_00]: I kind of make those moments really special because once I have kind of like freshened up a little bit and I have some time before I can start my first meeting in the morning, I've gone into a bit of like a ritual with my cats where they'll notice when I'm done my meeting. 13:09.567 --> 13:11.551 [SPEAKER_00]: That's kind of my like few minutes of my day. 13:11.571 --> 13:15.797 [SPEAKER_00]: I can like take to sign off for a bit and kind of get stuff ready for them. 13:15.817 --> 13:18.201 [SPEAKER_00]: So I will prep their breakfast. 13:18.381 --> 13:19.603 [SPEAKER_00]: I do their litter box. 13:19.683 --> 13:21.546 [SPEAKER_00]: I fill up their 13:21.526 --> 13:22.549 [SPEAKER_00]: spend some time with them. 13:22.729 --> 13:34.583 [SPEAKER_00]: And I've actually started to notice that those moments with my cats are so quiet if I get so quiet in the morning and it's just time I have with the two of them and it's been really, really sweet and I kind of like enjoy those moments with them. 13:34.643 --> 13:36.548 [SPEAKER_00]: I like like having that time. 13:36.528 --> 14:02.046 [SPEAKER_00]: So, those are ways I'm in trying to like romanticize my morning a little bit and it kind of does work and I've been listening to a lot of meditative playlists and I'll actually link some of them in the podcast episode because I find anything like too harsh in the morning like if it's songs that like are super upbeat or anything like that it kind of causes me a little more anxiety in the morning. 14:02.146 --> 14:03.127 [SPEAKER_00]: They're great when I wake up. 14:03.227 --> 14:05.050 [SPEAKER_00]: So anything that's just calm 14:05.030 --> 14:08.118 [SPEAKER_00]: really, really relaxes my body. 14:08.459 --> 14:13.373 [SPEAKER_00]: I would say try and start something like that, like really be intentional with your morning. 14:13.433 --> 14:20.372 [SPEAKER_00]: So if you do have a really nice morning for yourself before you do start work, like if you start it later in the day, 14:20.352 --> 14:25.176 [SPEAKER_00]: Or maybe just, you know, at a 9 a.m. hour, maybe try to wake up a little earlier. 14:25.276 --> 14:33.103 [SPEAKER_00]: So you have those morning rituals to yourself where you can do whatever brings you that joy. 14:33.144 --> 14:40.450 [SPEAKER_00]: And because I do work so early, I remember thinking like, that kind of sucks because then I'm not really going to have my morning to myself. 14:41.091 --> 14:50.359 [SPEAKER_00]: But I think even if it's just a matter of 20 minutes 14:50.339 --> 14:51.642 [SPEAKER_00]: You need that. 14:51.782 --> 14:58.458 [SPEAKER_00]: I feel like your body goes into a bit of a shock if you just like wake up a few minutes before you're about to start work and then you just like log on. 14:59.119 --> 15:01.866 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'll be so honest, I was kind of getting into that habit. 15:02.106 --> 15:07.960 [SPEAKER_00]: I would do it and I would be awake, but then I would notice once I would sign off work and it was the afternoon. 15:07.940 --> 15:10.044 [SPEAKER_00]: because I sign off at around like 230 pm. 15:10.385 --> 15:12.429 [SPEAKER_00]: My body would start to feel like it was crashing. 15:12.509 --> 15:14.794 [SPEAKER_00]: Like I would be exhausted. 15:14.834 --> 15:25.396 [SPEAKER_00]: I'd want to sleep and then by that point your sleep is already off because I'm sleeping in the afternoon and then I'm going to feel awake at night and not go to bed at a decent time. 15:25.877 --> 15:28.362 [SPEAKER_00]: So I really made some drastic changes. 15:28.342 --> 15:42.729 [SPEAKER_00]: To that recently to make sure like I actually get a good night's sleep I'm very disciplined with that and I feel Positive throughout the day like my mental health is feeling good and even if there's like Stressful moments come up with work. 15:42.749 --> 15:43.490 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm really busy. 15:43.511 --> 15:50.704 [SPEAKER_00]: I notice that like my cortisol levels are not so high like I've just noticed a drastic difference 15:50.684 --> 15:57.874 [SPEAKER_00]: So hopefully this can work for you too if you really pay attention to creating these morning rituals. 15:58.314 --> 16:02.520 [SPEAKER_00]: Number two is capturing small beauties throughout your day. 16:02.560 --> 16:05.484 [SPEAKER_00]: Notice things and like take a minute. 16:05.584 --> 16:06.165 [SPEAKER_00]: Take a minute. 16:06.185 --> 16:07.948 [SPEAKER_00]: Just like notice the things around you. 16:07.988 --> 16:10.431 [SPEAKER_00]: It could even be something like... 16:10.411 --> 16:12.553 [SPEAKER_00]: The lighting outside is like stunning. 16:12.613 --> 16:13.595 [SPEAKER_00]: Is it golden hour? 16:13.915 --> 16:17.439 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you had a really funny interaction or you were people watching. 16:17.499 --> 16:24.927 [SPEAKER_00]: You found a really really cute cafe or you went to a bookstore and you just like browsed. 16:25.128 --> 16:28.772 [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's also nice to like snap some photos journal about your moments. 16:29.713 --> 16:34.258 [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's kind of nice to treat your daily life like it seems from a movie. 16:34.238 --> 16:35.180 [SPEAKER_00]: I really think so. 16:35.761 --> 16:43.955 [SPEAKER_00]: And I told my sister this, when she was visiting, she was staying downtown and she booked herself like a really, really nice hotel. 16:44.015 --> 16:48.022 [SPEAKER_00]: She did that like for herself, you know, she's a mom of two. 16:48.282 --> 16:52.289 [SPEAKER_00]: She was having a bit of like a solo vacation when she came to visit us for a few days. 16:53.091 --> 16:53.952 [SPEAKER_00]: And 16:53.932 --> 16:59.981 [SPEAKER_00]: I loved that she booked herself, this nice hotel, and it was a treat. 17:00.041 --> 17:02.905 [SPEAKER_00]: It was like investing in something that matters a lot to her. 17:02.965 --> 17:04.948 [SPEAKER_00]: This really good experience. 17:05.128 --> 17:08.973 [SPEAKER_00]: She's really, really big on experiential events. 17:09.995 --> 17:13.560 [SPEAKER_00]: And one thing she did was... 17:13.540 --> 17:19.428 [SPEAKER_00]: For just for fun, she actually found a pretty bougie hotel to just hang out at. 17:19.508 --> 17:25.736 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, she would go for coffee at like the hotel lobby bar area and just sit and people watch. 17:26.237 --> 17:31.324 [SPEAKER_00]: And there was one night I had gone to meet her and we had a whole day like downtown Vancouver. 17:31.384 --> 17:38.614 [SPEAKER_00]: And then we decided to go for a cocktail at this same hotel and sit there and there was like jazz playing. 17:38.634 --> 17:40.476 [SPEAKER_00]: There was a jazz singer. 17:40.456 --> 17:43.200 [SPEAKER_00]: And it was really, really good. 17:43.260 --> 17:55.978 [SPEAKER_00]: And I just looking around and thinking, like, I don't think I've ever really just gone to a hotel lobby bar to like work or to just sit and get a drink to be honest. 17:55.998 --> 18:03.629 [SPEAKER_00]: Like I think I've only gone if I'm like staying at a hotel or maybe it's like more for like a special occasion and I'm with a group or something. 18:04.110 --> 18:09.417 [SPEAKER_00]: But the fact that my sister had just gone down there to like get a coffee and sit there and watch people. 18:09.397 --> 18:12.662 [SPEAKER_00]: I was like, you really know how to romanticize your life. 18:12.822 --> 18:17.769 [SPEAKER_00]: I set that to her and I think she she likes that compliment. 18:17.789 --> 18:24.659 [SPEAKER_00]: I think she totally agreed with me because I'm like, there's something so poetic about not even being on your phone. 18:24.699 --> 18:27.203 [SPEAKER_00]: You are going there and you are just 18:27.183 --> 18:40.222 [SPEAKER_00]: in the moment, you're drinking your coffee, you're looking around, noticing interactions between people and it's that feeling of sonder, right, knowing every single person has something going on in their life. 18:40.663 --> 18:50.237 [SPEAKER_00]: And when you start to do that in your life, I think it can bring so much joy for you to see that, like you're not just trapped. 18:50.993 --> 18:57.945 [SPEAKER_00]: between the own walls of your home, like you're actually getting out there and like going into the world and experiencing life. 18:58.887 --> 19:07.602 [SPEAKER_00]: Even if it's simple, like getting a coffee, you know, you don't have to be doing the most, it's just like romanticizing your own city and getting to know your own city. 19:07.582 --> 19:13.515 [SPEAKER_00]: and I kind of felt encouraged to do that too, you know, like now that I live in Vancouver. 19:13.535 --> 19:16.783 [SPEAKER_00]: I was like, why don't I do that a little bit more often, you know? 19:16.863 --> 19:24.219 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, I'm still new to this city, but there's so many ways I can like romanticize it, especially like on these rainy days. 19:24.319 --> 19:26.805 [SPEAKER_00]: I feel like that's so cinematic. 19:26.785 --> 19:29.048 [SPEAKER_00]: So I would encourage you to do that. 19:29.369 --> 19:44.150 [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's really important to be in the moment, but if you can journal about your days or like snap some cute pictures, you can always look back on those memories and notice how you captured the small beauties of your everyday, your everyday life. 19:44.571 --> 19:47.916 [SPEAKER_00]: Lastly, for you to start romanticizing your life. 19:47.896 --> 19:51.301 [SPEAKER_00]: you need to be the main character in it. 19:51.621 --> 20:00.073 [SPEAKER_00]: You need to have a main character mindset and sometimes that's not as easy, especially if you're recovering people please are like me. 20:00.934 --> 20:10.647 [SPEAKER_00]: But I think in this way, you will continue to gain more self-confidence if you are the main character of your own story. 20:10.627 --> 20:14.935 [SPEAKER_00]: You're the protagonist, you know, like, I know this may sound silly, but I really, really mean it. 20:15.015 --> 20:21.746 [SPEAKER_00]: When you go for a walk, like walk with purpose, be alert, dress in a way that makes you feel good. 20:22.247 --> 20:31.183 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen to a soundtrack that fits your mood to a podcast and always make sure you're making choices that actually align with the life you're trying to build. 20:31.163 --> 20:43.654 [SPEAKER_00]: So as I mentioned in like kind of the first point with the morning rituals, since I worked from home and I worked those very early hours in the beginning, it was really, really hard for me to actually feel like myself. 20:43.834 --> 20:47.217 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, like I wasn't really getting ready for the day. 20:47.277 --> 20:54.524 [SPEAKER_00]: It would be like I'd wake up, I'd maybe put on like sweats or I'd be wearing my pajamas for like a large part of the day while I'd be working. 20:54.564 --> 20:59.348 [SPEAKER_00]: And I wouldn't really do anything to like make sure I'm like, 20:59.328 --> 21:26.449 [SPEAKER_00]: doing my hair or like putting on a little bit of makeup something even if it's like a little concealer and just feeling in my eyebrows like something that actually doesn't take me too long but I noticed I was losing motivation to do the things that actually like make me feel very confident and when I wasn't doing that stuff I could feel myself like losing confidence inside because I'd even be like this feels like not me like there was 21:26.429 --> 21:38.429 [SPEAKER_00]: something about having to go to an office every day before COVID, where, you know, you are putting effort because you're actually going every single day to a place where you have to be around people. 21:39.450 --> 21:49.787 [SPEAKER_00]: But now, since we're all focused on like virtual meetings, we're all on Zoom, like everything's online, it's also rare, like you see people turn their camera on sometimes. 21:49.767 --> 21:55.895 [SPEAKER_00]: So, hopefully a bit, like, I'm that person who would be like, oh, I'm camera off because I didn't get ready today. 21:56.416 --> 22:01.223 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm just working, like, from my desk and no one should see me on camera right now. 22:01.243 --> 22:03.486 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, that's literally how I'd feel. 22:03.546 --> 22:08.453 [SPEAKER_00]: But how is that really channeling, you know, that main character mindset? 22:08.473 --> 22:11.176 [SPEAKER_00]: Because it feels like I'm kind of hiding, you know? 22:11.217 --> 22:12.298 [SPEAKER_00]: And... 22:12.278 --> 22:28.397 [SPEAKER_00]: As I've started to like every single day do things that make me feel good like even to get ready in the morning does improve my mood because it makes me feel like I'm kind of ready for anything like anything can come my way and I'm like good to go out the door. 22:28.377 --> 22:30.921 [SPEAKER_00]: When I sign off work I'm good to go to the gym. 22:31.181 --> 22:32.363 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm good to go for a walk. 22:32.804 --> 22:37.591 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm good to grab a coffee like good truly like it's not like a. Oh, now I have to get ready. 22:37.671 --> 22:38.412 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm too tired. 22:38.512 --> 22:45.643 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm already cozy so I might as well stay in like if you prep yourself you're you're ready and 22:45.623 --> 22:58.262 [SPEAKER_00]: I think that along with the main character mindset, when you start romanticizing your life, you are going to make conscious choices with that life you want to build. 22:58.302 --> 23:01.848 [SPEAKER_00]: And I feel like that kind of goes into this episode I talked about. 23:01.868 --> 23:07.677 [SPEAKER_00]: I think it was the last one where I said, we need to also be a little delusional when we're thinking about our big dreams. 23:07.717 --> 23:08.658 [SPEAKER_00]: Like that's okay. 23:09.139 --> 23:09.960 [SPEAKER_00]: I think 23:09.940 --> 23:12.826 [SPEAKER_00]: thoughts are very, very powerful and the more you manifest. 23:12.886 --> 23:14.831 [SPEAKER_00]: You believe the universe has your back. 23:15.051 --> 23:24.151 [SPEAKER_00]: I think when you channel that energy and you start to romanticize your life, you will see that you're feeling hopeful. 23:24.532 --> 23:25.975 [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's what gets us by. 23:25.955 --> 23:27.777 [SPEAKER_00]: you know, life can be dark. 23:28.158 --> 23:29.399 [SPEAKER_00]: Life can be very, very dark. 23:29.459 --> 23:31.321 [SPEAKER_00]: And it can be tough at times. 23:31.962 --> 23:33.584 [SPEAKER_00]: There's moments that can get very mundane. 23:33.944 --> 23:35.666 [SPEAKER_00]: We all deal with various struggles. 23:36.447 --> 23:43.936 [SPEAKER_00]: But I think hope is the one thing that always is there in a way that can help us continue to keep going, even in your darkest times. 23:44.377 --> 23:48.942 [SPEAKER_00]: And this episode where I'm talking about this topic actually, 23:48.922 --> 24:07.875 [SPEAKER_00]: came like at a really good time because Kristalline, I just recently finished the series Ripple on Netflix and I don't want to give anything away about the show, so no spoilers, but truly it's one of the best series I've seen in a long, long time. 24:07.855 --> 24:27.265 [SPEAKER_00]: It really reminded me of this as us and it's basically about how life can bring strangers together in the most unexpected ways and kind of also explains like the ripple effect or like the butterfly effect is what they call it, right? 24:27.245 --> 24:35.635 [SPEAKER_00]: the choices you make or the scenarios you tend to find yourself in can really really impact like what happens in your life. 24:35.775 --> 24:47.389 [SPEAKER_00]: So you could be running late to something but because you were running late by like however many minutes maybe you ran into like your future partner. 24:47.709 --> 24:48.270 [SPEAKER_00]: You know what I mean? 24:48.290 --> 24:52.695 [SPEAKER_00]: Like because of those because you missed the bus but you had to catch another one. 24:52.675 --> 25:08.457 [SPEAKER_00]: you ended up sitting next to your future partner or you ended up meeting somebody who actually could be very impactful for your life and they kind of show many scenarios that happen in the series and how those four people 25:08.437 --> 25:09.659 [SPEAKER_00]: at some point in the show. 25:09.739 --> 25:12.082 [SPEAKER_00]: It kind of centers around four characters. 25:12.543 --> 25:16.629 [SPEAKER_00]: Those four characters, it's Ariana, Nate, Chris, and Walter. 25:16.909 --> 25:17.991 [SPEAKER_00]: I feel like are the main ones. 25:18.231 --> 25:25.962 [SPEAKER_00]: All of them really start off his strangers, but they soon become like very in mesh to each other's lives because of like this one moment basically. 25:26.403 --> 25:35.035 [SPEAKER_00]: It's so interesting and it like teaches us about hope and about pain and about having empathy and just like the profound effect. 25:35.015 --> 25:41.986 [SPEAKER_00]: that we have on each other and like how beautiful community also is in those times that can be really, really tough. 25:42.647 --> 25:51.100 [SPEAKER_00]: I think that can kind of tie into like romanticizing your life like believing that there is hope and channeling that main character mindset. 25:51.080 --> 26:02.917 [SPEAKER_00]: If you view your life through soft blends, I actually think that can be very, very good for your mental health, because they're like these little romantic glimpses. 26:02.977 --> 26:08.886 [SPEAKER_00]: If you're noticing you're commuting to work, and the sun is shining. 26:08.866 --> 26:25.170 [SPEAKER_00]: and it's like shining on your face or something like that's that's kind of like a romantic glimpse or maybe you're noticing like beautiful colors on the streets as you're walking by maybe it's like the first snowfall or you're listening to like a really really good soundtrack. 26:25.150 --> 26:32.100 [SPEAKER_00]: Even coming home from like a really busy day and like putting on a movie, drinking a tea with a cozy cozy blanket. 26:32.340 --> 26:34.864 [SPEAKER_00]: Treating yourself to something small, getting a treat. 26:35.204 --> 26:39.069 [SPEAKER_00]: One of my good friends Kayla, I believe she does this like every single Sunday. 26:39.130 --> 26:43.556 [SPEAKER_00]: She calls them squirrel walks where it's kind of like a mental health walk where you walk. 26:44.096 --> 26:49.504 [SPEAKER_00]: For as long as you want I think she walks for about an hour and you bring a tote bag and you just 26:49.484 --> 26:55.050 [SPEAKER_00]: Gather things that make you feel happy, like gather these things that like bring you joy. 26:55.110 --> 27:07.483 [SPEAKER_00]: So in this case, like if you wanted to do it and romanticize your life, you can go for a long walk and maybe get yourself that sweet tree, you've been craving or like pick up something that you want it and it doesn't always have to be something you buy. 27:07.583 --> 27:11.447 [SPEAKER_00]: It's just like things that you see around that can really really bring you joy. 27:11.507 --> 27:13.129 [SPEAKER_00]: And I think there's something. 27:13.109 --> 27:15.291 [SPEAKER_00]: kind of beautiful too about squirrel walks. 27:15.611 --> 27:19.054 [SPEAKER_00]: I hope you all do channel these ways. 27:19.355 --> 27:28.483 [SPEAKER_00]: At least channeling like one thing every day where little by little you can start romanticizing your life and see how it does affect you mentally. 27:28.543 --> 27:30.264 [SPEAKER_00]: Like see if it does bring you joy. 27:30.304 --> 27:34.648 [SPEAKER_00]: Because at the end of the day that is so important taking care of your mind. 27:34.708 --> 27:43.116 [SPEAKER_00]: Making sure you have a healthy mind is one of the 27:43.096 --> 27:46.263 [SPEAKER_00]: no matter what you're going through in a way. 27:46.664 --> 27:51.295 [SPEAKER_00]: And I feel like this show kind of taught me that, like a ripple really, really did. 27:51.315 --> 27:56.247 [SPEAKER_00]: And I highly recommend all the room for us listeners, watch a ripple on Netflix. 27:56.347 --> 27:57.309 [SPEAKER_00]: It was so, so good. 27:57.369 --> 28:01.459 [SPEAKER_00]: I honestly want to like rewatch it again because that's how much of an impact. 28:01.439 --> 28:05.024 [SPEAKER_00]: It had on me, but it also makes me think of my friend Christine, right? 28:05.064 --> 28:08.649 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, she's someone who has such a positive mindset. 28:08.689 --> 28:17.302 [SPEAKER_00]: And I think a very strong mindset where she projects that type of light wherever she goes. 28:17.983 --> 28:22.169 [SPEAKER_00]: And I told her this too, I was like, it's not that you don't go through tough times. 28:22.209 --> 28:22.890 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, she does. 28:23.290 --> 28:24.452 [SPEAKER_00]: She very, very much does. 28:24.973 --> 28:31.362 [SPEAKER_00]: But it's the way she carries herself and she has that love for herself 28:31.342 --> 28:35.991 [SPEAKER_00]: that I know, like she is romanticizing her life, whether she knows it or not. 28:36.812 --> 28:42.984 [SPEAKER_00]: But I had a really good time recording this episode, I hope you enjoyed listening to it. 28:43.044 --> 28:49.536 [SPEAKER_00]: And please let me know, like, what are things you are doing to romanticize your life? 28:49.516 --> 28:56.788 [SPEAKER_00]: Every single day, like something little, and I want to thank everyone who responded to my Instagram story, like letting me know what they do. 28:56.828 --> 29:00.033 [SPEAKER_00]: It's so interesting to see like there's a common theme. 29:01.015 --> 29:08.487 [SPEAKER_00]: Many people mentioned music, nature, like dancing, even mentioning like the coffee. 29:08.467 --> 29:19.619 [SPEAKER_00]: Aspective life, you know, like turning your coffee session into more like ASMR, like hearing the coffee grinds like in your machine or pouring the milk when you're steaming it. 29:19.679 --> 29:21.541 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, there's just something beautiful to it. 29:21.621 --> 29:29.991 [SPEAKER_00]: And I think if we all start to see our lives in this way, I think it's like just giving ourselves more of that love that we deserve. 29:30.251 --> 29:34.896 [SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, I hope you all all enjoy this episode and I will see you all next week.