"You are what you listen to."

Music has an incredible effect on our behavior and mood. Music is such a huge part of my life. I am not complete without paying my college discounted $5 subscription of Spotify (which for those who are new to that application it allows you to find and search any type of music, stream it, as well as add it to persoanl playlists to play whenever you want). I play music whenever I get the chance. As I get ready in the morning, in my car to class, working out, doing homework, etc. I always need to have music and I realized that playing the right kind of music is essential to allowing myself to keep the right kind of mood throughout the day. I decided to actually perform a small experiment to see how music effected my behavior. Every time I would go to the gym I would try out a different genre of music. I would try rap, acoustic, techno, alternative, rock, ext. I would then pay attention as I worked out to how it would effect my workout and how I would feel during and after. I realized that playing music with a faster more intense beat would raise my heart rate. It would also allow me to be more daring and lift more weights. I then realized this music was better then listening to more relaxing slower tempo music because that made me slower at lifting and more tired. Having higher faster beat music was great but then I realized something new. Listening to rap or rock music with lyrics that were more profane made me feel more anxious and made me angrier or made me less sensitive to profanity and other immoral things. Could it be that music can have an effect on our mood and behavior? OF COURSE IT CAN! I began to listen to music with less profanity and better constructive lyrics still with a up tempo beat. The result was a great workout with less anxiety and anger. I also was able to feel good morally during and after. What I learned from this small experiment was that when I write or listen to music I need to be careful what I listen too. The cliche saying "you are what you eat" could perfectly be changed to "you are what you listen too". We need to remember that music has a powerful influence on our lives and if we use it prudently then we can enjoy it and have it influence our lives for the better.