Music (and more) to reframe your perspective to
July 6, 2018 10:31 AM Subscribe
How do you guys maintain positivity and kinda keep yourself in a big-picture headspace? I'm dealing with a confluence of annoyances and as a result, feeling annoyed and frustrated. How do I shift my headspace more? I'm thinking: music and other little reminders? Can you help brainstorm songs and suggest other ideas?
Examples of what's making me annoyed: work deadlines, we're moving so half our stuff isn't unpacked yet and I can't find anything, a contractor keeps tracking dirt around, the engineer doesn't reply until you call him three or four times so construction keeps getting slowed down, my husband's intermittently out of town to finish moving out of the other place so I'm doing the parenting myself more than usual, the construction is costing money so I can't just pay for more help, he needs to take the car (and I am too cheap to rent a second one) so I'm doing my single parenting by bike and transit, the new neighbors' cat has been menacing ours so to give them time to adjust I've been keeping our yowling beast indoors for awhile... I could go on.
It's all fine and will ease up once we get moved out and unpacked in a couple weeks. But in the meantime I'd rather not walk around thinking "why do people suck??" "Oh another !#+ thing to deal with, greeeat." I can take a deep breath and smile, or laugh at myself, and the grumpy mood dissipates, but then it comes back again. So I'm thinking maybe a playlist is the way to go.
I once had a temp job at a church, and the office manager kept the accounting office on a soundtrack of popular gospel and other positivity, like Whitney Houston singing "I believe the children are the future." The crazy thing is that it worked. Same thing when I lived with someone who had Bob Marley on play-repeat: I was always, y'know, trying to lively up myself and wondering if the things I refused were the things I should use.
So I'm thinking I need to put together a soundtrack of reminders to get over myself a little, look at the big picture and focus on ways that life is actually pretty good, be grateful for what I have, acknowledge my limitations and try to do good in the world, etc. In case my question sounds cheesy, I'll add that the less cheesy, the better, but honestly, my experience is that cheesy stuff also works, so all ideas are welcome.
But maybe you manage to remind yourself of all of this in other ways? I'm totally open to hearing about all of that, too. Thanks!
Examples of what's making me annoyed: work deadlines, we're moving so half our stuff isn't unpacked yet and I can't find anything, a contractor keeps tracking dirt around, the engineer doesn't reply until you call him three or four times so construction keeps getting slowed down, my husband's intermittently out of town to finish moving out of the other place so I'm doing the parenting myself more than usual, the construction is costing money so I can't just pay for more help, he needs to take the car (and I am too cheap to rent a second one) so I'm doing my single parenting by bike and transit, the new neighbors' cat has been menacing ours so to give them time to adjust I've been keeping our yowling beast indoors for awhile... I could go on.
It's all fine and will ease up once we get moved out and unpacked in a couple weeks. But in the meantime I'd rather not walk around thinking "why do people suck??" "Oh another !#+ thing to deal with, greeeat." I can take a deep breath and smile, or laugh at myself, and the grumpy mood dissipates, but then it comes back again. So I'm thinking maybe a playlist is the way to go.
I once had a temp job at a church, and the office manager kept the accounting office on a soundtrack of popular gospel and other positivity, like Whitney Houston singing "I believe the children are the future." The crazy thing is that it worked. Same thing when I lived with someone who had Bob Marley on play-repeat: I was always, y'know, trying to lively up myself and wondering if the things I refused were the things I should use.
So I'm thinking I need to put together a soundtrack of reminders to get over myself a little, look at the big picture and focus on ways that life is actually pretty good, be grateful for what I have, acknowledge my limitations and try to do good in the world, etc. In case my question sounds cheesy, I'll add that the less cheesy, the better, but honestly, my experience is that cheesy stuff also works, so all ideas are welcome.
But maybe you manage to remind yourself of all of this in other ways? I'm totally open to hearing about all of that, too. Thanks!
Despite being a gospel singer, Johnnie Frierson’s Miracles is a pretty awesome song that’s been reframed as a humanist anthem (by this humanist). It encourages me, despite all the chaos and seeming absurdity of everything around us, that humans do AMAZING things, even if they don’t seem novel or amazing
posted by furnace.heart at 11:06 AM on July 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by furnace.heart at 11:06 AM on July 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Floating by Jape
Mar (Lo Que Siento) by Bomba Estério
posted by melissasaurus at 11:17 AM on July 6, 2018
Mar (Lo Que Siento) by Bomba Estério
posted by melissasaurus at 11:17 AM on July 6, 2018
The Staple Singers always make me feel like the world could be a good place after all.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 12:37 PM on July 6, 2018
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 12:37 PM on July 6, 2018
Thank You - Bombadil
Do You Realize - The Flaming Lips
Family and Genus - Shakey Graves
Joyful Girl - Ani Difranco
posted by BeHereNow at 1:16 PM on July 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Do You Realize - The Flaming Lips
Family and Genus - Shakey Graves
Joyful Girl - Ani Difranco
posted by BeHereNow at 1:16 PM on July 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Nothing has helped me as much as meditating every day. I found the Headspace app very supportive of my getting started with it.
Also check out Peter Mulvey's song Vlad the Astrophysicist
posted by spindrifter at 3:17 PM on July 6, 2018
Also check out Peter Mulvey's song Vlad the Astrophysicist
posted by spindrifter at 3:17 PM on July 6, 2018
For some reason I just thought of Us3's Hand on the Torch album.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:25 PM on July 6, 2018
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 3:25 PM on July 6, 2018
Get Out Of Your Own Way by U2
Bucket by Kings Of Leon
Impossible Germany by Wilco
Remember Rockefeller At Attica by Charles Mingus
Hang Up Your Hang Ups by Herbie Hancock
Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder
Paisley Park by Prince
Learn How To Fall by Paul Simon
Making Flippy Floppy by Talking Heads
Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating In The Future by Mike Doughty
Sure Looks Good To Me by Alicia Keys
Magpie To The Morning by Neko Case
Just Like Water by Denizen Kane
Dear Friends by Elbow
Glad Man Singing by Iron and Wine
posted by eustacescrubb at 5:22 PM on July 6, 2018
Bucket by Kings Of Leon
Impossible Germany by Wilco
Remember Rockefeller At Attica by Charles Mingus
Hang Up Your Hang Ups by Herbie Hancock
Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder
Paisley Park by Prince
Learn How To Fall by Paul Simon
Making Flippy Floppy by Talking Heads
Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating In The Future by Mike Doughty
Sure Looks Good To Me by Alicia Keys
Magpie To The Morning by Neko Case
Just Like Water by Denizen Kane
Dear Friends by Elbow
Glad Man Singing by Iron and Wine
posted by eustacescrubb at 5:22 PM on July 6, 2018
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wrong way/one way by RVIVR
Live at the Plantation by Murs
posted by General Malaise at 10:44 AM on July 6, 2018 [1 favorite]