Music has always been one of my go-to self-care tools (check out my self-love workbook for the create-your-own-soundtrack worksheet!). If I could walk around with headphones on basically every time I left my house, I would. It’s an instant get-out-of-your-head anxiety-helper. That’s why it’s a huge part of my self-care routine.

It’s part of my morning routine as I shower, it’s part of my exercise routine when I’m running in the park, it’s part of my meditation practice, it’s part of working in my garden – music goes with me everywhere I go.

I used to love sad music. When I was depressed it helped me process my feelings, it gave me an emotional outlet, it gave me a reason to spend the whole day in bed crying. It was one way that I dealt with my depression and it took me a long time to realize that it wasn’t helping me cope with my depression, it was just feeding it. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you just have to put on your favorite sad song and have a good cry, but for me, it was an everyday thing.

I found self-love and self-care and music took on a different meaning for me.

I used it as a tool to consciously make myself feel better. The difference it makes when the soundtrack of your day is happy and upbeat vs sad and melancholy is really a phenomenal difference. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been knee-deep in a funk and then I hear a beat that I just have to dance to. That moment of happiness may only last for a few minutes on a bad day, but it’s a light in the darkness.

I wanted to compile a list of all of my favorite make-me-ridiculously-happy songs. I want to give a special shout-out to Exactly by Amy Steinberg. Her song was the inspiration and motivation behind Blessing Manifesting. The lyrics “You are a Blessing Manifesting.” Just got to me in a really deep way.

What’s on your self-care playlist?