Startin the Day off Right....It's an Ipod Thang!

So life is tuff right? Yeah I know...duh! So how do you deal with it, do you let it build until one day your doctor says no more spicy food or caffeine (oh the horror!) because you have an ulcer the size of a grapefruit or are you the proactive sort that faces life head on?

My life is filled with stress as I am sure is true for most of you. Between work, family and friend obligations, and those unexpected curve balls that come out of nowhere I feel like I am on a never ending roller coaster. Honestly though....I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't remember who said it but I heard it asked once that if you had a choice between an uneventful, even keeled, somewhat bland existence and a life of incredible highs accompanied by some pretty hard lows which would you choose? For me I didn't really have to think about it I would choose door number two Bob!

Don't get me wrong, I am not a glutton for punishment and I haven't lived a totally charmed life making me unaware of what a series low can be. From very early on I have been a part of and seen some pretty horrible things but I have also had some amazing experiences in my life. So looking at the big picture, some of those amazing experiences are tied to the horrible ones and I couldn't-wouldn't trade any of it in. It took me a long time to get to this state of mind and a constant and consistent effort to stay here.

So with all of that being said, how do you keep yourself from wallowing in the pits? Well for me it is a daily, sometimes hourly struggle. I find that I need to start my day off right, I do this a couple of ways, first it starts with the playlist and then moves to the quote or saying. I get the quotes and sayings from all over, books, songs, websites. If you are looking for some quotes John over at Ezgreatlife had some really good ones this week in his Get Motivated post.Later in the day I may need to throw in a couple of short meditations/deep breath routines and a few more playlists depending on how bad or good the day is.

I have a docking station for my Ipod all over the house in the bathroom so when that shower starts to get the body ready to begin a new day I can also get the mind in a state to do the same. I usually begin with a short meditation, Deepak Chopra has a great Heart Meditation, Wayne Dyer has an Om meditation that is helpful, Shakti Gawain also has a great Creative Visualization exercise. After the meditation I start the music and the playlist varies depending on my mood.

Mood 1 - My life has thrown me challenges lately, recognize those challenges, learn from them, now move on:

• Matchbox Twenty
• Matt Kearney
• Marvin Gay
• Gnarles Barkley
• Fergie
• U2
• Sinatra
• James Morison
• Ray Charles
• John Lee Hooker
• James Brown

Mood 2 - Come on Girl you know your hot, find your mojo, it's all good: (This list could go on and on)

• Van Morrison
• Al Green
• Marvin Gaye
• Mat Kearney
• Maroon 5
• Joss Stone
• Duffy
• Amy Winehouse
• James blunt
• Dave Mathews
• Sean Kingston
• Paulo Nutini
• Fergie
• Massive Attack
• Akon
• Damion Marley

Mood 3 - Let loose, sing as loud as you like, no one can see you (and hopefully hear you) let it out:

• The Police
• Beastie Boys
• James Brown
• Nickleback
• Papa Roach
• Daughtry
• Sublime
• Timbaland
• The Killers
• Lilly Allen
• The Chalets

Ok I have plenty of other moods (like the let's get it on....better left for another time), but this gives you the general gist of how I use my Ipod and the playlist feature-I am not sure how we survived before the Ipod, I can't even remember life before it!! Records, tapes, walkmans, cd's, radio stations....we've come a long way baby. Props to that man Steve Jobs...holla back now!!

Your outlook on life isn't going to be good all of the time, sometimes you need a little help to regain your perspective. So what's in your playlist, do you have one, if you don't-get on it!!

Here are a few of the songs I groove out to, depending on the mood.