January motivation playlist

It can be hard to be motivated in January. You see perfect Instagram photos of salads and people in gym clothes with the bicep-curling and sweat droplet emojis as a caption, meanwhile you’re sitting there eating the endless supply of leftover chocolates from Christmas in the same position on the sofa you’ve been in all day. Just me? Surely not. But motivation doesn’t just mean exercising and eating healthy. Sometimes we just need the motivation to get through the day and feel positive and happy.

mo·ti·va·tion
Noun
1. the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way: "escape can be a strong motivation for travel" 
2. the general desire or willingness of someone to do something: "keep staff up to date and maintain interest and motivation"

The second definition of ‘motivation’ is what I’m talking about. Just the general feeling that you want to do something. It really can be hard especially for those of you who are back to school, college or uni to keep motivated and positive, especially when the mornings are cold and dark. I know I feel the same when I have long shifts at work.

I never planned to include this in this post today, but something happened this morning that really made me upset and disheartened. You may know if you read my 2016 roundup post that I applied for a Masters in Magazine Journalism in London. I had my heart set on this, envisioned myself finally doing what I love in an exciting and vibrant city, but this morning I found out that I hadn’t been accepted onto the course. Initially I felt like a failure, and I felt like everything I’d worked hard for and dreamed of had been taken away from me. I was angry and disappointed in myself. Nevertheless, after a bit of a cry, a phone conversation with my mum and my friends being so supportive and lovely, I realised it wasn’t the end of the world. Yes, I lost out on something I wanted really badly, but perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. I am hoping I’ll be able to do the same course elsewhere, and maybe that will work out for the better.

I didn’t tell you all this to make you feel sorry for me or anything like that, I just wanted to show you that what might feel awful in the first instance, might turn out for the better. What has this got to do with a motivation playlist, you may ask? For me, music is something that keeps me feeling motivated. If you saw the poem I wrote for my last post, I mentioned that music keeps me going no matter what. I’m not going to give up on my dream just because I got rejected from a course, and when I listened to some of my favourite positive songs it made me happy and excited about what the future might hold for me. Music has an amazing power to motivate and inspire, whether it’s something small or big that you’re hoping to do.

So, without further ado I’ll share with you my January motivation playlist; these are songs that will either get you motivated for the gym or perhaps just to do that essay you’ve been putting off. This is a compilation of songs which show me that no matter what there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and you can do whatever you put your mind to.

• The Greatest – Sia 
This song just makes me feel like I can do anything. Like YES I AM THE GREATEST. ALIVE.

• Love My Life – Robbie Williams
I know what you’re thinking. No I’m not a middle aged woman, but you can’t deny that Robbie’s new tune is amazing. It’s so empowering and it’s impossible to sing the words ‘I am beautiful, I am powerful, I am free’ without a huge smile on your face.

• Through the Dark – One Direction
Yes, I include this song on almost all of my playlists. It’s just my favourite song of all time and if I’m ever feeling down I’ll listen to it and immediately feel better.

• Just Hold On – Louis Tomlinson & Steve Aoki
So so much love for this song. No matter what happens, just hold on and it’ll be okay.

• No More Sad Songs – Little Mix
One of my favourite songs from Little Mix’s new album; there’s no point dwelling on the past and whatever sadness it may hold, move on because the things coming your way are so much better.

• We Are Powerful – Lenka 
This is a song I discovered because of work. I hear it all the time there and I always think it’s so cute and happy, so I googled the lyrics and found out it was Lenka, who I hadn’t heard of in about 8 years. She’s still making awesome songs, though.

• Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself – Jess Glynne
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Don’t dwell on your mistakes, don’t give yourself a hard time, just let it go and you’ll be so much happier.

• Water Under the Bridge – Adele
I don’t know why but this song just makes me so happy! They also play it a lot at work and it’s just so upbeat I end up dancing along to it as I’m walking around putting stuff on the shelves, haha.

• Best Day of my Life – American Authors
I forgot about this song until I heard it on an advert the other day and was reminded of how much I love it. It’s so positive and upbeat, it’s great.

• Superheroes – The Script
Ah, The  Script. Their songs always seem to be so uplifting and meaningful. This is one of my faves because it has such a nice message that if you work hard enough you can do whatever you put your mind to.

• Second Hand Heart – Ben Haenow & Kelly Clarkson
Again, another song I can’t help grooving to at work. It’s just got a great upbeat sound and makes me happy.

• Holy Ground – Taylor Swift
One of my favourite ever Taylor songs! It just makes me smile so much, it’s fast-paced and uplifting.

• On Top of the World – Imagine Dragons
This one’s pretty self-explanatory too; the song makes me feel like I’m on top of the world! So cliché. But it’s true, this song is so positive and happy.

• If I Could Change Your Mind – Haim
I actually have work to thank for a lot of my music discoveries it seems! I hear this song all the time at work as well and I love it, it has a chilled but upbeat vibe which is awesome.

• Up & Up – Coldplay 
And surprise surprise, I discovered this song at work too! It’s been bugging me not knowing what the song was called, but I knew it was by Coldplay so I just searched Coldplay songs and it came up. The video is also really unusual and interesting if you’ve never watched it I’d recommend it! I especially love the last lines of the song ‘when you’re in pain, when you think you’ve had enough, don’t ever give up’.

You can listen to the playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/clarelxuise/playlist/45pwrnRBtPjd87muCv0Rhr

Hope you enjoyed this post and that my playlist keeps you motivated throughout the rest of January and beyond! Also thank you so much for 150 followers on bloglovin’, I appreciate every single one of you!

What do you do to stay motivated and which songs make you happy and positive? Are any of my faves the same as yours? I’d love to hear your comments!

As always thank you for reading, x