Is seeing life in pink a mission impossible? We often forget that happiness is in our actions and that it doesn’t just fall into our laps. That’s why I’ve compiled a list of 10 things you can do to brighten up your everyday life.

For those unfamiliar with the French expression:

Life in pink (La vie en rose) is an expression that comes from an old eponymous song, interpreted by Edith Piaf and covered by Louis Armstrong.
It means that we see all things in life with the pink filter of love. Everything is embellished by the filter of love. Love is magic because it makes everything in life beautiful.

1 – See life in pink: stop brooding about the past

If there’s one thing that prevents us from seeing life as rosy as possible, it’s our past: our wounds, our mistakes…

Yes, we brood over them day after day: “I’m not a good person”, “I’ve never had any luck, so what’s the point?”

And, every day, we go forward with our backs bent under the weight of our past. How about letting go of all that?

We can.

To do so, I wholeheartedly invite you to pause and reconsider what’s preventing you from seeing life as rosy. Look back at that past event. Revisit the scene once again, in your mind. Then repeat these words: “I’m letting go of this burden and going free.”

The past belongs to the past, so don’t let it contaminate your daily life.

2 – Start a gratitude book

Gratitude is a happiness magnet. Because we forget that it’s not because life is beautiful that we’re grateful, but because we’re grateful that life is beautiful.

This means it’s time to take back our power by understanding that everything starts from ourselves, even happiness.

In other words, to see life as rosy as possible, it’s no longer a question of waiting for life to make us happy, but of finding, every day, the smallest of the reasons we have to be happy.

That’s why I wholeheartedly invite you to start a gratitude notebook, or to pick one up if you already have one, but it’s gathering dust on your bedside table (laughs).

To get started: note down today’s date and list 3 reasons why you should smile today, and feel grateful to be alive.

Then do it again the next day, and the day after that, and so on…

Let the magic happen, and you’ll be able to see life in pink.

3 – See life in pink: read positive books

When I’m brooding, nothing works better for me than reading. I open a book, my breathing becomes gentler and deeper, and I stop listening to my negative thoughts.

Why don’t you give it a try?

Seeing life as rosy is to stop being alone with your thoughts. It means giving them less importance. In short, it’s a distraction.

That’s why reading is so effective. For a few minutes, we are no longer focused on our thoughts, but on the words that flash before our eyes.

We close the book and are amazed to find that we breathe better, freer, happier even.

At the bottom of this article you’ll find a selection of positive books, books that will put a smile on your face and make you see life as rosy as possible.

4 – Have a positive mantra

Our thoughts are often negative and cause us to lose our footing. We get up in the morning with the firm intention of being happy, but as the hours go by, our thoughts contaminate us with their darkness. What can we do about it?

I invite you to have a positive mantra, i.e. a phrase that makes you feel good.

Here are a few examples:

“I am free to choose serenity.”

“Life is a gift, not a burden.”

“I allow myself to taste the joy of living.”

Choose a phrase, or have fun inventing one, and repeat it to yourself: 10 times, even 100 times a day. Whisper it, sing it, write it down. Let it guide you to a happy day.

5 – Learn to talk about good news

We don’t always hear ourselves talking, and we don’t always notice how much we talk about bad news. Yet we repeat them several times a day to anyone who will listen.

What if, instead, we talked about what’s going well, what makes us smile, what inspires us?

It’s simply a habit we need to get into, little by little.

To start with, have fun answering the question “How are you?” with good news.

Then, some time later, answer with two pieces of good news… and so on.

6 – Turn off the news and social networks to stop seeing life in black

If there’s one place where life is black, it’s in the news. Indeed, we only talk about what’s wrong, because fear sells.

Then, on social networks, it’s the other way round: we only talk about what’s going well, what’s going really well, and our lives become all black when we compare them with those of others, which seem so bright…

So it’s time to take matters into our own hands and cut all that out.

Here again, it’s a good habit to put in place: instead of looking at your phone or the TV when you’re bored, resist the temptation and prefer to pick up a book, exercise, sing, dance…

Do something else.

Lately, I’ve been watching myself check my phone and social networks/media more than 10 times a day! Now that I’ve replaced this bad habit with reading and sport, I’m much better!

Try and see life in the pink (laughs)!

7 – See life in pink: go for a walk in nature

We talk too much, have you noticed? Yes, we spend so much time talking and communicating that we don’t realize how tired we are.

And, unfortunately, fatigue invites us to see life more and more in the black. Yes, we no longer have the energy to go looking for the reasons we have to smile.

Remember, happiness is an action. It requires us to do something. In other words, when we’re tired, we can’t take action to find happiness.

That’s why I’m proposing a remedy to help you see life as rosy as possible: go for a walk in nature.

What’s the point? Because, as you walk, your thoughts will become quieter, until they fall completely silent. After a few moments, you’ll look up in amazement at the silence. What a relief!

Then let nature do the rest: contaminate you with its serenity and joie de vivre.

Yes, nature doesn’t worry about negative thoughts, it doesn’t ask questions, it just is.

That’s why I wholeheartedly invite you to take regular walks in nature to remind yourself of this precious lesson: be silent and remember you simply have to be. You have nothing to prove, nothing to do, just to be.

8 – Sport, dance, move

Here’s a personal development message I heard that changed my life: “When you’re bored, play sports!”

Because when we’re bored, we tend to turn on the TV or social networks and do nothing but take in information that, quite often, doesn’t do us any good…

That’s why, instead of remaining passive, we can become active and do something that does us good: to our bodies, our minds and our hearts.

Do some sport: go for a run, go for a bike ride or go for a walk. Do yoga. Dance, jump around. Play with your children, your pets…

Because happiness is in movement. It’s not in the back of the sofa, unless you’re reading (laughs).

9 – Be positive for the future

We don’t always manage to see life in a rosy light, because tomorrow scares us. Indeed, it’s full of uncertainties, and quite often we let our minds go to gloomy scenarios in which we don’t measure up, or in which life seeks to do us harm.

That’s why I invite you to ask yourself this question, again and again, until your outlook on life becomes more positive: “What if everything turned out all right?”

After all, we don’t know what tomorrow will be like, so why imagine it all black? Why not imagine it all pink?

Because we’re afraid of being disappointed? So does that mean we prefer to go through every day of our lives worried about tomorrow?

In fact, seeing life in pink is a choice that’s up to you: do you prefer to be positive, at the risk of being disappointed sometimes? Or would you rather be worried every day of your life?

10 – Take a break and think of nothing

Seeing life through rose-colored glasses doesn’t necessarily require joy, but also inner calm.

After all, all too often we run around in all directions and even forget to breathe.

That’s why I wholeheartedly invite you to take several breaks a day. To remind yourself, I suggest you follow this principle: as soon as you finish something, take a break of one minute or 10 minutes, as you like. But take a break!

And during that pause, come back to your breathing. Yes, do nothing but breathe. You’ll see that after a few breaths, a gentle smile will appear on your face, and your shoulders will relax naturally.

And why? Because everything in you will remember that life is a miracle and that it’s so good to be alive. And that’s what seeing life as a rose is all about.

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover Be content with what you have: 7 tips to say goodbye to frustration
Discover How to savor the present moment and be happy: 8 great tips

I recommend this inspiring book:

La Vie en Rose by Jamie Ivey

In La Vie en Rose, Jamie Ivey shares a transformative journey in which she learns to see life through a positive, optimistic lens. The book is a personal exploration of finding joy in the midst of life’s challenges, by adopting a mindset that allows one to appreciate the beauty and goodness in everyday moments. Ivey’s story is a source of inspiration for anyone seeking to cultivate a more positive mindset, encouraging them to discover the pink in their own lives and savor the beauty around them.

A beautiful escape for weekends or vacations. Ivey’s great descriptive and narrative skills almost make you feel like you’re back in the South of France.
I find Jamie Ivey’s writing style very light and enjoyable to read.
I’m glad I bought this book.
I’m doing my best to make the experience of reading this book last as long as possible, but it’s not easy.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself