As a child, I loved my music. Of course, that was back when we had to rely on the radio or our own album collection to hear our favorite songs. The result was that we either spent a lot of money on music or listened to the same songs over and over. I didn’t have much money, so I scanned the radio stations constantly. I found that just by hearing the right song, my mood could go from melancholy to pumped in 3:35.

For some reason, I forgot how much music can impact my thoughts, ideas, and mood until I got my iPod. It is one of those devices I resisted (I didn’t have TIME to mess with that!) and now I can’t live without. I’ve created play lists for inspiration, to lift my mood, and to make me cry (why do we women do that?). I bunched together songs for working out to and for making me feel EMPOWERED.

Sometimes it is the lyrics. I listen to Tubthumping by ChumbaWumba to remember that “I get knocked down but I get up again, you’re never gonna keep me down.” Life goes on.

Try and keep frowning while listening to Walkin’ on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves.

Other times, a song from my past brings back a specific feeling. Like Wild Wild West by Escape Club - it makes me feel EMPOWERED. Not because of the lyrics, though. It came out about the time I graduated from college and took a job 1500 miles away from home. My first assignment was 6 months in LA where I would be living on company expenses the entire time. WOOHOO! Livin’ in the wild, wild west!

My more-recent song of empowerment is Unwritten by Natasha Beddingfield. Check out the lyrics and let me know if they inspire YOU!

Do you use music to guide your mood? Maybe you use music to guide you into meditation, visualize your goals, or just have a good cry. Powerful stuff!