Create a Playlist for Your Life

Do you remember the first time you really found a song or artist you LOVE?

I remember sitting at the back of the bus in grade school – I was about 10 years old – and my friend passed me his headphones and said “Here – listen to this.”

I put the headphones on, turned up the volume and heard the opening of “Baba O’Reilly” by The Who. My brain exploded. I still use that song to this day to get psyched up for big events.

Music can be the soundtrack for our lives. It can help us feel happy, sad, excited, connected and energized. It has been part of the human experience for millennia.

The history of music dates to the earliest human civilizations. Our ancestors began infusing rhythms and melodies into communal life, using simple instruments, chants, and rhythmic sounds. There is no known human society, past or present, that hasn't produced music in some form. Music appears to be as integral to human expression as language.

If you think about how music affects us—from pumping us up to filling us with pleasure to bringing tears to our eyes—it’s not hard to imagine it has a powerful effect on the brain and body. The effect of music stretches beyond the experience of sounds to influence emotions, health, and wellbeing, as well as physical and mental performance. The benefits of music can be harnessed to achieve a sense of thriving by allowing you to power up your physical and cognitive abilities.

Here’s an awesome example of brilliant music for celebration and happiness: Lady Gaga playing King of Pain for Sting on his birthday.

Supercharge Your Workouts 

Listening to music while exercising has been shown to improve physical performance and decrease fatigue. Fast-tempo music increases maximal power output and alters the perceptions of fatigue. So next time you go on that run or head to the gym, bring your headphones.

Need some energy? Check our Metallica playing right after pro-democracy demonstrations by students in Moscow in 1991.

Supercharge Your Immunity

Music has also been associated with a boost in natural killer (NK) cells and immunoglobulin A (IgA) activity, with both key components of your body’s first line of defence against stress and aging. Show your immune system some love and support it by including music in your daily routine.

Supercharge Your Brain

Music is also a brain booster. It has been shown to improve performance on problem solving and memory tasks and to enhance concentration. Some researchers reported that children who received musical training had increased grey matter density in the right primary auditory cortex, which was associated with improved cognitive functioning.

Supercharge Your Mood

Music also stimulates the brain regions involved in reward, motivation, and pleasure. Listening to “chill-inducing” and pleasurable music increases blood flow to your nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area in the brain, which are associated with the release of dopamine and endogenous opioids, substances that play a key role in rewarding and motivating behaviour, as well as in happiness.

If you want to feel some powerful emotions check out Shane Hawkins playing drums for Foo Fighters at his dad’s tribute concert.

Create a Soundtrack For your Life

Music can elevate our lives in so many ways. Today I have a simple task for you to do. I’d like you to make some soundtracks or playlists to help you get through your days and weeks.

Create Your Happy Mood Soundtrack

I’d love you to create a soundtrack for the moments in your life when you want to be happy and relaxed. How you want to feel when you are driving home from work to see your family. How you want to feel during dinner with loved ones. How you want to feel on a chill weekend morning at home. 

Pick your favourite happiness and joy songs and label this playlist so you can quickly access it when you want to elevate your mood and create a happy space.

My wife Judith has a playlist that she and the kids listen to on the way to school in the morning. She also has an epic ’90s hip hop mix that is fantastic for dinner or when people come over.

Let’s use music to create a happy, positive vibe in our homes and the places we share with those we love.

Create Your Flow-State Soundtrack

Matching breathing to great music you love can be a powerful tool to elevate your mood, sharpen your concentration, and bring you into a state of flow. 

Begin by taking a few deep breaths and allowing yourself to enjoy long exhales as you relax physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Then choose a song or album that you love, that makes you happy, and that you know very well (i.e., you have listened to it many times before).

Bring your attention to your breath and to the feeling of air moving in and out of your nostrils and airways as you enjoy your awesome music.

After a song or two, you can move into an activity, task, or project that is meaningful to you as you leave the music playing in the background. Relaxation plus breathing plus music is a combination you can leverage to perform to your potential and get into flow so you can have peak experiences.

Create Your High-Energy Soundtrack

Music can elevate our lives in so many ways. Today I have a simple task for you to do to earn your challenge point.

Create a soundtrack for your workout. Pick your favourite high-energy songs and label this playlist so you can quickly access it when you want to exercise.

I have a playlist for weights, running, and general workouts. I change them up every few months, but once you have them set it’s so easy to ensure you have the right music at the right time for those high-energy moments.

PS: I also use my workout playlists for commutes to work when I have big presentations or keynotes.

Leverage The Power of Music

In conclusion, music has an extraordinary ability to transform our lives, enhancing both our physical and mental performance while lifting our spirits and boosting our immune systems. From my own experience of discovering the electrifying sounds music when I was 10, I know firsthand how a powerful soundtrack can shape our memories and emotions. Music has been a vital part of human culture for millennia, influencing many aspects of our well-being. I encourage you to create your own playlists for different moments in your life—whether it's for workouts, relaxation, or focus. By doing so, you can harness the benefits of music, helping you to thrive and achieve peak performance in all areas of your life.

References

Lam, H.K.N., H. Middleton, and S.M. Phillips. “The effect of self-selected music on endurance running capacity and performance in a mentally fatigued state.” Journal of Human Sport and Exercise 17, no. 4 (February 2021). https://doi.org/10.14198/jhse.2022.174.16.

Centala, J., C. Pogorel, S.W. Pummill, and M.H. Malek. “Listening to fast-tempo music delays the onset of neuromuscular fatigue.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 34, no. 3 (March 2020): 617–622.

Chanda, M.L., and D.J. Levitin. “The neurochemistry of music.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 17, no. 4 (April 2013): 179–193.

Patel, D. “These 6 types of music are known to dramatically improve productivity.” Entrepreneur (January 9, 2019): https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/325492.

Habibi, A., A. Damasio, B. Ilari, M. Elliott Sachs, and H. Damasio. “Music training and child development: A review of recent findings from a longitudinal study.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sci- ences 1423, no. 1 (March 6, 2018): 73–81.

Dukić, H. “Music, brain plasticity and the resilience: The pillars of new receptive therapy.” Psychiatria Danubina 30, supp. 3 (April 2018): 141–147.

Feng, Q., L. Wang, Y. Chen, J. Teng, M. Li, Z. Cai, X. Nui, et al. “Effects of different music on HEK293T cell growth and mito- chondrial functions.” EXPLORE (January 10, 2022). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550830722000027.