Have you ever been watching a movie and noticed that you feel a sudden rush of energy or inspiration because of the soundtrack that is playing? This morning as I heard the sounds of the TV in the background, I decided to put on my headphones and start my playlist called “uplifting music.” After listening to it for an hour straight, I started to realize that starting your day off with the right kind of music could really make a big shift in your mood. We all have certain rituals in when we wake up in the morning. We brush our teeth, have our coffee, and make our breakfast. Sometimes we turn on the TV. I highly recommend you don’t turn on the TV. Cluttering your mind with all the crap that’s going on in the world or all the crap the media wants to throw at you first thing in the morning is the perfect way to start your day with a completely cluttered mind. If you prefer a meditative slience, that’s reasonable, but I know most of us need something. This morning I realized that you could leverage music in an extremely effective way. I mentioned earlier that when you do morning power questions for 30 days, eventually your brain will associate the waking state with the empowered state of mind. You can also do the same thing with music, and eventually your brain will connect the simple act of being awake with the empowering feelings you get from listening to music.
What kind of music should you use?
While the 10 pieces of music that will elevate your mood are a good start, there are a number of things you want to consider when you choose your morning power music. First off, if there are lyrics, pay attention to the lyrics. If they lyrics are sad, depressing, or anything along those lines, discard that from your list of potential tracks for morning power music. Next you want to consider the actual instrumental tracks? Are they upbeat, are they fast, do they make you go into an energetic state of mind? Those are the things I would look for in my morning power music. Sure, there are probably songs a bit more on the mellow side that might be nice, but if you are trying to get to an inspired, motivated state of mind, then I think faster is definitely better.
If you are really ambitious about implementing this into your life, then you can even setup an iTunes alarm clock that will automatically start playing whatever song you tell it to at the time you are supposed to wake up. Think about how much more enjoyable that would be then the sound of a beeping or buzzing alarm clock.
