playlist.

To grasp *the💡big idea* in this blog post, you as the reader may need to consider your own experience of playlists in your life.

At present time, do you have collections of songs that you play for certain ‘setting events’ in your day – working out, getting ready, driving to _____, cooking/choring, hobbying, etc (?)

How about these playlist memories (depending on age): a ‘tape’ of favorite songs you recorded off the radio, songs collected to play during warmups for a sporting event, a collection of songs for a roadtrip, a playlist someone made FOR you.

Take a second to consider playlists.

Depending on your age, it may be an easy observation as far as how much this concept of a playlist has changed. It may also bring you back to a range of feelings the playlist created. 

Music preference is personal. Music is rhythm, vibration, harmony, flow. The experience of music evokes feeling states. Have you ever watched a movie without the soundtrack?

This video scribe is from one year ago. At the time, what was considered to be normal day-to-day access to various businesses in communities continued to be disrupted. I was still able to go to my neighborhood Orange Theory Fitness. I reference OTF often in these videos.

This scribe was an observation of a new young coach at OTF that came with all the ‘goods’. She didn’t have years of personal training experience, but she had a great playlist.

I’m making a connection to our ‘goods’ – our essence. Our rhythm, vibration, harmony, flow.

 

There is a little bundle of awesomeness that works at Orange Theory. This one happens to be nineteen years old, which I didn’t even know. Not that that’s a big deal, but it’s not a job you can just come off of the street. You have to have a level of professionalism, a level of context to athletics – and I suppose that  could get started early. Anyway, this girl, after the class she was talking to someone asking them what they thought about her playlist. The person, which was obviously a close person to her, gave her some constructive feedback. And I loved the playlist. Coaches all have awesome playlists. I said to her, I said ‘you know, I thought your playlist was awesome and we’re kind of spoiled because of the coaches here.’ And it got me thinking about, just in general, our lives. What’s our playlist? If you had a playlist for your life, I’m sure you would play a different one at different times, but what is your playlist? Is it invigorating? Is it attuned to your needs or your interests? Is it attuned to the rhythm of how you want to show up and express yourself? And just as far as the coaching stuff, a coach could have so much knowledge of strength and conditioning, so much. A phD. (that’s what we were talking about): “a coach could come in here with a phD in strength, but if they have a sucky playlist? forget about it.” Things that matter in the (OTF) class are really the playlist, the energy and enthusiasm of the coach, their interest in the content and the context of their audience, and their experience of that content. And I say this with working with elementary a lot, is: those kids don’t give a s**^ what your degree is in, they don’t give a s*^* how much you read, they don’t give a s*^* about what your level of education is. They are aware of your attunement to them. They are aware of your playlist you’re coming in with, your curiosity about them and your general happiness level. What’s your playlist? That mindset: what are we showing up with? How do we show up and express ourself? That’s kind of this concept of this ‘playlist’. How is that like that ripple effect? How does it bleed out to people around us?

I had a principal who loved grandeous opportunities to inspire the student body. He used a scene from the movie, Mr Holland’s Opus, as a lesson to evoke a feeling state of appreciation. He played the scene from the end when Mr Holland unexpectedly walked in to a full auditorium of people he had ‘rippled’ during his career as a music/orchestra teacher. If I recall correctly, I think Mr Holland had wanted to write music on an epic level, not teach high school. In the scene, everyone stands and gives him an ovation. He received the experience unexpectedly and was overwhelmed with emotion. My principal would play the scene, and have everyone in the class imagine they were the one being applauded and appreciated. It’s a powerful experience.

Intentionally using music, or creating playlists, for different experiences you encounter in day can support your emotional state when done ‘on purpose’ to create a desired feeling state – as opposed to creating a sense of longing for what was (early years of athletics, first love, fun parties, road trips, weddings or big events).

With intention (and practice), you can use the special memories and moments to capture, or isolate, a desireable feeling for the present moment. 

Are you bringing the ‘goods’ to day?

What essence of you shows up in different settings? Is it the one with rhythm, vibration, harmony, and flow?