Another way to boost your good feels is to move. Movement is the bane of stagnation. Psych yourself up with music. It works. (Try staying mopey while listening to Pharrell Williams’s “Happy”; it takes some serious sad-face commitment!)
Create an upbeat mix for your life’s soundtrack. Easier yet, tell Alexa to play songs from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s or whatever musical genre that is your motivational call-to-arms. I created a playlist and titled it “Happy.” (Remember, we are verbing happy, so don’t roll your eyes at me.) I listened to it every day while writing my book and often broke into dance. Added bonus: the unabashed cringey-ness of it would annoy the crap out of my kids. It was the gift that kept on giving.
Scientific studies provide backup support for the beneficial power of music. Since 2006, two UCF professors, neuroscientist Kiminobu Sugaya and violinist Ayako Yonetani, have offered the popular class, Music and the Brain, which, as you can guess, explores the effects of music on brain function. Music has been shown to reduce stress and depression while improving mood, cognitive skills, memory, and health. According to Sugaya, music also increases dopamine release in a specific part of the brain, similar to that of illegal drugs. It’s like a cerebral Woodstock, only with musical rather than chemical stimulants (and better hygiene).
In other words, it’s time to tune into a happier you. It’s one of the easiest things you can do to give yourself an immediate pick-me-up. (Disclaimer: please do not emotionally “cut” with music, as that defeats the purpose. Point in fact—when I was going through my divorce, an acquaintance once suggested I listen to this new vocal artist, Adele. “She will sing your pain,” he advised. Well, he was right. I’m obsessed with Adele and find her talent astonishing, but repeatedly playing “Someone Like You” while sitting in the dark and drinking wine ranked up there with Top Ten Coping Mechanism Fails. So, choose wisely. (Think Lizzo, not Billie Eilish!)
Beth’s Happy Playlist
- Hooked On A Feeling (Blue Suede)
- Good as Hell (Lizzo)
- Spirit In The Sky (Norman Greenbaum)
- Escape (The Pina Colada Song) (Rupert Holmes)
- Come and Get Your Love (Redbone)
- Brandy (Looking Glass)
- Put Your Records On (Corinne Bailey Rae)
- Lovely Day (Bill Withers)
- Firework (Katy Perry)
- Stronger (Kelly Clarkson)
- I Can See Clearly Now (Johnny Nash)
- Dancing in the Moonlight (King Harvest)
- Everlasting Love (Love Affair)
- The Lion Sleeps Tonight (The Tokens)
- (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay (Otis Redding)
- Tiny Dancer (Elton John)
- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John)
- Can You Feel the Love Tonight (Elton John)
- Maggie May (Rod Stewart)
- Carry on Wayward Son (Kansas)
- Night Moves (Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band)
- Imagine (John Lennon)
- Easy (The Commodores)
- Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- Joy To The World (Three Dog Night)
- Fooled Around And Fell In Love (Elvin Bishop)
- Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler)
- With Or Without You (U2)
- It Must Have Been Love (Roxette)
- Can’t Fight This Feeling (REO Speedwagon)
- Hungry Eyes (Eric Carmen)
- Sister Christian (Night Ranger)
- Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now (Starship)
- Against All Odds (Phil Collins)
- I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues (Elton John)
- Every Time You Go Away (Paul Young)
- Jack & Diane (John Mellencamp)
- Under the Bridge (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
- I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston)
- What’s Up? (4 Non Blondes)
- I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing (Aerosmith)
- Nothing Compares 2 U (Sinéad O’Connor)
- Never Enough (Loren Allred)
- This Is Me (Keala Settle)
- Claire de lune (Best Movie Soundtracks)
- Purple Rain (Prince)
- Dancing In The Moonlight (Jubël)
- Days Like This (Dermot Kennedy)
- Can’t Help Falling In Love (Kina Grannis)
- Never Break (John Legend)
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