We Should All Be More Whimsical

The average day is pretty, well, average. You might groan at your alarm, scoff at the sunlight, and trudge through your routine without a single pep in your step. If you’ve found yourself in this type of rut, there’s a TikTok trend with over 40 million posts that might help. It’s all about adding more whimsy to your life, and it’s absolutely adorable.

On Feb. 6, creator @abigail.bailey0 asked, "Girlies, what are some little things you do to be more whimsical? I love knowing about cute little habits.” The video now has over 900,000 likes and more than 50,000 comments, and each one is cuter than the next.

One person said they yell “road trip!” whenever they miss an exit while driving. Another said, “I tell my cat she’s in charge when I’m going out the door.” Another asks, “Can you hold this please?” when placing their purse on an inanimate object and another sets their weather app to Antarctica so they can check in on the penguins.

Others say hi to the moon, draw hearts on their face with moisturizer, ask their dog, “The usual?” when feeding them dinner — you get the idea. Many people were just there for the comments, too. “You are all so so precious,” one person wrote. Another said, “This comment section made me realize I’m not being whimsical enough with my free will. I’ll get on that right now, thank you.”

How To Add More Whimsy To Your Life

In many ways, being whimsical is all about cultivating inside jokes with yourself and looking for more ways to laugh and enjoy the little things as you go about your day. If you pick up a few one-liners or sayings — like telling your dishes “it’s bath time!” before plunging them into the sink — it automatically makes everything feel more fun.

Whimsy also centers around personifying inanimate objects, like the drinks in your cup holder or even the stars in the sky. By talking to them you immediately add more magical points to your day.

While many whimsical habits come about on their own, you can also look for ways to add more whimsy to your life on purpose. On Feb. 13, creator @frey_add asked her followers how they like to be more whimsical. “Glitter on our eyelids? Colored eyeliner? Sparkly lipgloss? Trinkets? Life is too short to not be a lil bit whimsical.”

In her comments, one person said they carry perfume samples in their bag. That way, when someone compliments their scent, they can hand them a bottle. Others like to wear flowers in their hair or put beads on their bags. But some noted that it isn’t so much about what you wear or how you look, but more about how you act and see the world — though it never hurts to have fun with your outfits, either.

Anything Can Be Whimsical

While the whimsical trend is currently uniting all the moon-loving, glitter-wearing, tree-hugging girlies on the app, the art of whimsy has always been there. In 2023, creator @grotty.old.hag said she adds more whimsy to her life by collecting crystals, reading about goddesses, writing poetry, and going out of her way to be kind.

It also brings to mind princesses in fairytales from decades past and even the manic pixie dream girl trope from early 2000s movies. Instead of being an aesthetic or a trait centered around alluring others, however, this fresh take on whimsy is about looking for small ways to improve your daily life.

On low-energy days, creator @mywyrdways will play around with interesting eye makeup while creator @naichelizzette likes to set positive affirmations for her passwords so she repeats them more often. Creator @jozadak said she always tells her car it did a good job after a road trip. The list of ways to be whimsical goes on and on.

You can also dabble in whimsy by drinking out of cute mugs or talking to your pets or fully lean into the lifestyle like creator @chazlyn.yvonne who said, “No plans. Just being whimsical and romanticizing my life,” as she prances around in pink dresses. If you like the sound of it, look for lighthearted ways to uplift your day and make life a little sweeter.