by Mella Barnes
W
e are flooded with daily lists
and how-to articles to help
us improve or change our lives. Lose
weight! Get organized! Divorce your
cheating spouse and move across the
country! Some of these are obviously
easier said than done (I would have an
easier time getting a divorce and moving
than dropping those extra 10 pounds).
Today, I want to talk to you about a truly
easy way to change your life, in almost
any direction you choose.
Listen to different music. It sounds too
easy, but give it a try for a week or
longer. I guarantee you’ll think differently,
perceive the world differently, and maybe
make small changes to your life. Let’s say
you’ve always been a country fan, and
you hate current music. You shudder in
disgust and turn the channel as fast as
possible whenever you hear one of the
latest pop songs. Perhaps you love pop
music but hate jazz. This week, I want you
to seek out music you hate and listen to it.
Imagine you love it. If you love all genres,
pick one you listen to the least or know
the least about. If you like journaling, this
would be the perfect time to document
how you feel through this process.
Initially, you’ll probably hate it, and that’s
okay. Just observe it passively. What do
you notice about the songs? You can
notice all of the bad things about them
first, but try to find one thing you do like.
Even if it’s something small, like “I sort of
like the drum beat.” That’s a great place to
start! The goal is not to completely change
your music taste here, and it’s completely
okay to still hate the genre at the end of
our experiment. What we are doing is
changing your perspective ever so slightly.
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