Since we’re in the middle of the Gratitude Challenge, I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about something I’m insanely grateful for: music. There are many, many reasons why I love music, but I think they all me back to one singular reason: music is a great tool for self-discovery. It’s such a great tool, in fact, that it inspired me to write The Story of You.
Why is music a great tool for self-discovery? There are many, many reasons (and they can multiply if you write, sing, or dance to music!), but these are some of the ones I think are most important:
5 Reasons Music Is a Great Self-Discovery Tool
Music can help you practice self-reflection.
Like a mirrorball, music can reflect your thoughts, experiences, and feelings back to you. If you spend time analyzing lyrics or creating playlists, you’ll find countless opportunities for self-reflection. Not only can you explore the lyrics to find what’s relatable (and what’s not!), but you can also use the storytelling of songs to better understand yourself and the world around you. Listening to music is one of the best ways to explore your values, desires, and beliefs.
Music can create connections with others.
Music can bring people together. In fact, most of my friendships began by us bonding over music! Not only can music itself be a gateway for creating connections with others, but through the lyrics, you can connect with the characters in the song, the songwriter, and, of course, yourself. There’s a reason that music is part of almost every culture and religion. It creates powerful connections!
Music can influence your emotional state.
If you’ve ever heard a song that made you cry or instantly get up and dance, you know how much music can impact your emotional state. Music can be used as a tool to go deeper into what you’re already feeling (like playing “loml” when you’re already feeling sad), or it can be a tool to help take you out of an emotional state that you’d rather not be in (like playing “Shake It Off” when you’re feeling frustrated). Music can make or break a mood, which makes it great for self-discovery.
Music can inspire healing, growth, and resilience.
Due to my line of work, I’m always on the lookout for inspiration, and music is one of my go-to places to find it. Lyrics paired with music (or just music alone!) can inspire new ideas, encourage emotional healing, and spark resilience in listeners. No matter what you’re going through, someone (probably Taylor, ha!) has written a song about it. Finding the music that helps you emotionally can help so much with self-discovery.
Music can teach you what you value.
As you listen to music, you reflect on the lyrics and how they make you feel. You can relate to lyrics that have nothing to do with your own life if, at their core, they align with your values. Every time you hear a song for the first time, you’re given an opportunity to assess a its story and messaging and sound decide if you enjoy it. What you do and do like in a song is a portal into better understanding what you do and don’t like in general, and what you listen to says a lot about what you value.
These are just a few of the many reasons why music is so important when it comes to self-discovery. I hope that everyone who uses The Story of You as a guide to self-discovery is inspired to spend more time with music — both Taylor’s and other artists’ — so they can experience all of the benefits of using music for self-discovery.
To help you start your self-discovery journey with music, I’m making Taylor Swift Eras Journaling Prompts available for download! It’s just a taste of the self-exploration you can do in The Story of You, but it’s a great jumping off point to start your self-discovery journey. Click here to download your PDF now!
Continue your self-discovery journey with The Story of You: A Swiftie Journal & Coloring Book for Self-Discovery filled with Taylor-inspired inspiration and introspection that will help you gain all of the benefits listed above and so much more! Available wherever you like to buy books or order here.
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