Back in high school, a friend had a distinctive taste for sad songs and ballads. They reflected her perpetual teenage heartbreak well, she said.
I remember thinking: “But if you keep listening to sad songs, how is your heartbreak supposed to ever go away? Perhaps you should change it up a little…”
Sure, you can listen to five minutes of Mozart when you really need a break, cry over a sad song after a breakup, or vent your inexplicable anger with a good metal-medley.
But you can also crank up a happy tune to start a day you’re not looking forward to with vigor. You can play some epic trailer music to get into the mood of tackling a momentous task. And you can enjoy the calm but relentless drum rhythm of a lo-fi radio station as you press on with your work as slowly and steadily as the beat.
Express your moods via the music you choose — but don’t forget to also choose your music based on the moods you want to be in. Music and moods are a two-way street. Make sure you use both lanes.