A “Positive Affirmation” playlist

This past week I was talking with a loved one about the efficacy of “positive affirmations” for self-care and general maintenance of mental health: Do they really work? Aren’t they kind of childish? How are you supposed to overcome immanent mental blocks and the realities of daily life in order to “buy in” to this sort of positivity claptrap?

Personally, I’m a total sucker for positive affirmations. My history with the genre goes back to my college days when burgeoning self-examination found a ready outlet in the “New Age” literature of decades past, long before I was fully aware of the vast array of contemporary self-actualization messaging that predominates as a salve (or essential function of reproductive labor) under neoliberal capitalism. In the years (nearly decades) since these initial forays into deliberate positive thinking and self-programming my mental frames have tended toward an all-purpose penchant for magical thinking combined with a more Taoist philosophical inflection for staying grounded (which, incidentally, is an attitude perfectly suited–if not essential–for pursuing an academic career).

Over several years of loss, failure, and frustration I have dabbled in a range of therapeutic practices for cultivating purpose and motivation. No single practice has become an ingrained habit or ritualized routine, but I have developed a repertoire of perspective-shifting mental self-checks along with an experiential awareness of their efficacy. And this includes the sort of seemingly trite, cliché, and platitudinous pablum that is readily available for purchase as word art decor or cheekily-designed drinkware from your neighborhood big-box retailer.

Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve had time to post here and this conversation inspired me to draft a playlist that represents my complicated thoughts on the topic of positive affirmations. The songs included in this playlist feature sincere applications of positive affirmation as well as more cynical scrutiny of the nefarious paradox involved in assuming responsibility for your life circumstances; a consideration of breakdown and recovery segues into ranging reflections on the nature of mind; a final block of songs touches upon injunctions to be mindful and “in the moment” before closing out with affirmations of empowerment and love.

So this playlist goes out to my loved one, and to anyone else who might benefit from a rhythmic reminder that you are not alone and that you matter. Sorry for getting sappy.

The track listing is below, here it is as a Spotify playlist, and here is the set as a YouTube playlist.

A “Positive Affirmation” playlist:

1. “Keep Up the Good Work” (Lowly)
2. “This is the Day” (THE THE)
3. “Attitude, Belief & Determination” (Martin L. Dumas, Jr.)
4. “Vision Boards” (Good Looks)
5. “Let Me Let It Go” (Night Shop)
6. “Bend” (Middle Kids)
7. “Fix You” (Coldplay)
8. “Recovery” (Frank Turner)
9. “Flying #evolution” (Jackie Venson)
10. “Chinese Translation” (M. Ward)
11. “Goin’ Against Your Mind” (Built To Spill)
12. “Universal Mind (Live)” (The Doors)
13. “In My Mind’s Desert” (Slomosa)
14. “Floating on a Moment” (Beth Gibbons)
15. “This Magic Moment” (Lou Reed)
16. “Always Now” (Willie Nelson)
17. “Be Here Now” (Mason Jennings)
18. “Never Too Late” (Michael Franti & Spearhead)
19. “ILYSM” (Wild Pink)