Music for Motivation

Life has been... a little challenging lately. Stresses at work have made the usual Monday to Friday grind a bit grindier than usual. So, when face with a difficult situation, I have turned, as I'm wont to do, to entertainment for comfort. This time around, though, I've looked to (listened to?) music a bit more, and that's managed to get me through most days.

The musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying has one of the most impractical titles I've ever seen, but the music's nice. When I'me feeling down at work (ESPECIALLY at work), I pull out "I Believe in You," and everything gets a little shinier.

I have the Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe version on my iPad, but the performance I love the most comes from the movie adaptation with Robert Morse.

I've always been the type to tear up when a movie or TV show teaches a moral that somehow directly applies to my current situation. The first season of The Legend of Korra ends with a doozy: When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change." The music from the soundtrack at that point helps to drive the message home, and I've played it more than once when things get hard.

Yes, I have the soundtrack to a children's show on my iTunes. Does that even surprise anyone anymore?

Sometimes, you need a little motivation of a different kind. When I'm feeling like I'm so bogged down with trouble that I can't even fantasize about the good life anymore, I remind myself that "With a Little Bit of Luck" it'll all work out.

My Fair Lady goes from being my favorite musical to my most-hated in the last thirty seconds of the show. The ending's that bad. The music's pretty nice throughout, though, and this number in particular is just so infectiously fun that I can't help but smile.

When even the thought of driving to work is horrid, I like a little bit of metal to motivate me. Danish metal does it best, and right now there's no metal Danishier than Volbeat's "A Warrior's Call"... which I'm pretty sure is all about MMA.

I drive angry. I like to drive angry. You know how runners will sometimes listen to rockin' music to get through their exercise routine? My thing's a lazier version of that.

Lastly, there are some days when you just need to motivate yourself into complete idleness. For those days, there's nothing like a little Otis Redding and "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay." If I listen to metal on the way in to work, this is the music that plays during the homeward bound commute. Mmm-boy, can't beat it.

So what are your most motivational songs?