Have a Nice Day - Power Ballads

Have you ever noticed that no matter what your mood or frame of mind, when a particular song pops onto the radio you find yourself smiling or singing along or possibly even 'bopping' in time with the beat.

This article explains how you can use the positive effect of music to improve your mood and inspire you at any time of the day, no matter what frame of mind you are in.

The positive effects of music

Research has found that music influences both our psychological state (moods) and our physiological state (heart rate, blood pressure, neuropeptide levels), so it should come as no surprise to us that particular songs can be uplifting and seem to neutralise our negative moods. In fact, music has been used as a therapeutic tool for emotional and physical healing since as early as the 17th century - Robert Burton wrote in his classic work, The Anatomy of Melancholy, that music and dance were critical in treating mental illness.

What are your Power Ballads?

For me, songs like 'If Today Was Your Last Day' by Nickelback, 'Bring Me To Life' by Evanescence and 'Have a Nice Day' by Bon Jovi are inspiring and motivating. This might be due to the upbeat tone and rhythm of the music, the lyrics or an association such as the image of the crooked 'smiley' from the film clip associated with the Bon Jovi song - you might also remember this music video where the singer autographs a CD cover with a doodle of a smiley face which then gets sent around by phone and internet until it is appearing everywhere.

What are the songs that inspire and motivate you? Which songs do you like to listen to that make you feel better when you are feeling down?

Different songs will impact you on an audio (sound), visual and emotional level.

Audio

Think about those songs you love to sing or dance along with, even if it is just in the privacy of your own home. Some songs simply have a great beat or a sound that touches our heart. You might love great classical masterpieces, funky dance tracks or thumping heavy-metal rock ballads. The choice is yours and nobody else needs to know!

Visual

Consider the songs which have inspiring visual associations for you, such as fun or powerful images from movies or film clips. For example, can you hear the song 'My Heart Will Go On' without remembering one of the most famous scenes in film history - Kate Winslet's and Leonardo DiCaprio's "I'm Flying" scene from James Cameron's "Titanic"?

What happens when you hear "Chariots of Fire" by Vangelis? Do you find yourself remembering the scene from the film of the same name, with the men running on the beach? This music is widely used by motivational speakers around the world for its uplifting and motivating character so if you don't remember the title look it up on Google and listen to it now.

Emotional

We all have songs that move us. These may be linked to good times in our lives or it might be specific lyrics that directly speak to us. These will be personal moments that only you will appreciate and understand. It doesn't matter if there is no logic to the association, only that your mood lifts and you feel joy, happiness or inspiration when you hear these particular tracks.

Power Up Your Day

It is no longer necessary to carry a record player and a stack of vinyl platters with us wherever we go in order to have access to our library of music. Modern technology has blessed us with MP3 players, iPods and even mobile phones that double as mini libraries for soundtracks and songs.

You can take your favourite pieces of music and copy them off CDs that you already own or else purchase and download them online through a service like the iTunes Store. Copy these songs onto your MP3 player, iPod or phone and then create a playlist of your favourite inspirational music. This way, any time you are feeling a little down or in need of an emotional boost you can easily find your motivational sound tracks to play and uplift your mood.

So grab your portable music player, crank up your favourite songs and Have a Nice Day!

Christopher Young is a senior consultant and executive coach with a broad knowledge and experience in financial services, project and change management, personal empowerment and information technology. His areas of focus include developing highly successful leaders, creating high-performance teams and implementing best practices in process improvement, project management and software development process.

White Water Consulting ( http://www.whitewater.com.au ) is one of Australia's leading project management consulting firms, specialising in exceptional delivery of projects for the Financial Services market.

Achievement Coaching and Consulting ( http://achievementcoaching.com.au ) assists professionals to reach their individual goals of enhanced business performance and personal satisfaction.