I once met a man who refused to listen to sorrowful or angry music. At the time, I thought he was being a little dramatic.

I put this thought in the back of my mind and continued to listen to the music I loved. Over the years, I recognized that this music evoked more and more painful memories… and they were not even always my own. I was identifying with the people represented in the story of each song in a very profound way.

I still love all my music but, today, I am aware of how much it affects my mood and well-being. I make more of an effort to choose “happy songs.” I find this funny because I am now listening more to the music of my ancestors and my parents. Growing up listening almost exclusively to English music, my favourite songs are now a cultural fusion of languages I might not even understand.

This led to another discovery. Even if I do not understand the lyrics of a song, it still evokes the feeling it’s meant to. Who cries to a song without lyrics? I do. I was intrigued by this and did some more research, thereby discovering a broad array of scientific evidence that the music itself manipulates the very state of the cells in our bodies. See the video below for a visual representation of this.

Music is the key to unlocking happiness potential. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know my core belief: “what we think, we become”. What’s so powerful about thought? It is the energy generated by the feeling behind it. Change your feelings, and you will change your thoughts. Change your thoughts, and you will change your life.

Choose your music carefully and design a medley of positive, inspired, and happy songs. If you must listen to songs of despair, balance them out using a 1/5 rule. Do not take this advice lightly… it took me nearly a decade to figure out what was staring me right in the face, and I must say that I do regret it.

And remember… we design our own luck! M.