Can music help you achieve happiness?

I absolutely think music can achieve happiness. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m a music lover or if it really has to do with physical and psychological factors. Music makes me happy, sometimes extremely happy. Many other things in life can make you happy as well. We have great books full of stories and poems. We also have movies and social events, just to name a few. But what is it specifically about music to spark feelings of happiness in our minds? Ephesians 4:19 says: “Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves and making music to the Lord in your hearts.”

Clearly the Lord made music for His praise but also for our enjoyment. But on top that, listening to music causes a physical reaction, it’s dopamine release! This feel-good hormone does exactly that, makes up happy! Music changes our mood and helps us cope with whatever we are going through. Whether you simply listen to music or decide to sign along, music becomes the perfect stress reliever. Music has been making people happy for centuries, and experts even use music as a form of therapy for pain management and emotional well-being. There are many ways to use music in your life, here are few ways that I use music to help me promote well-being and improve my health.

1.  Listen to music first thing in the morning – Listening to my favorite songs as I’m waking up and getting ready helps me set the stage in my mind for a great day with low stress levels.
2.  Praise the Lord with music! There are so many options of Christian music these days, that we can find all kinds of Praise music to pick from.
3. Driving in my car – Whether I’m sitting in traffic or simply driving along, I play my music. It tends to relieve any commute related stress and it helps time go by faster. In a way, it gets my mind off all the tasks I need to complete for the day, giving me some relaxation time before I prepare for the day.
4. When I’m preparing a meal – I play soothing mellow music like smooth jazz. It helps me relax as I’m engaged in something that’s more of a chore. Now cooking becomes a fun activity instead of an obligation.
5. As I’m eating a meal – My relaxation continues throughout dinner or lunch. Eating in a relaxed environment is more pleasurable and it helps with food digestion.
6. When doing chores – Whether I’m paying bills, washing dishes or doing my laundry, music helps take away the “chore” factor out of my mandated activity. Music can also give me energy to help me keep going, especially if I pick songs that I really like.

Music offers overall well-being and it’s completely enjoyable. Other than music, let’s analyze what happiness really means and what we can do to experience happiness. So other than listening to music every chance I get, I also add a few guidelines to my toolbox that help me stay happy. I came up with six messages to experience happiness:

1.  Tell someone you love them every single day and hug someone, human touch is essential, even virtual hugs work!
2.  No point in being disappointed. Something will always not go your way. We all make mistakes small and/or big. Move forward, never backwards
3. Remember to spend time with the Lord every day. You decide when and how but make a commitment to do it daily
4. Don’t bog yourself down, pause, take breaks, relax, this is an essential step to reach happiness.
5. All around there’s opportunities to open your heart and practice kindness, enrich your life and be happy!
6. Immerse yourself in nature and practice gratitude. The options are limitless, the ocean, trees, birds, flowers, etc.

When we consider these guidelines and make music part of our daily life, we are closer to a happy place. To add to our absolute happiness goal, wisdom should take a role in our lives. I encourage you to make wise choices as well! Ask the Lord to give you wisdom. “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.

He will not rebuke you for asking.” (James 1:5 NLT) And remember:
• We can choose what kind of life to live. Live above all of life’s challenges. Choose happiness
• Rise up and live over difficult situations
• Challenges are to mold us and teach us a lesson
• Enjoy life to the fullest while here on earth

It’s not a new concept to think of music as a healing element and a stress reliever. Research confirms that music has great effect on the brain and our emotions. I believe that music has healing capabilities. I have lived it and I have felt it. Experts are using music for therapy and results show that music works to help all kinds of patients. It’s not surprising that music affects our mind and body. Listen to your favorite music every chance you get for ultimate well-being and happiness.

She believes her God given destiny is to empower women and help them reach their goals.

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