Good Things Are Coming
Start Your Year Off with a Dose of Positivity
A New Year — new hopes and dreams.
Get your year started off right, by starting your day out right.
Just as you fuel your body with good for you foods, fuel your brain with positive thoughts. In the process you can rewire your brain to become more positive.
“Tell yourself that this year, there isn’t going to be a single day where you don’t do something that positively feeds your mind.
Even if it’s as minuscule as reading for 10 minutes a day. Even if it’s meditating for 10 minutes every morning. Think that’s too much? Then what about listening to a podcast on your commute.
How much extra time does that take out of your day? Absolutely none!” — Tony Robbins
If you’re looking for a boost of encouragement, you’ve come to the right place. Feed your mind with positive and inspirational material. Our team’s picks:
Carla Betancourt |NAU Social Intern, Junior
Favorite Motivational Playlist: my life is a movie
A lot of the time, it’s really easy for me to be consumed by work, school work and family stuff; This playlist has been helpful in reminding me to be present and live in the moment.
It motivates and inspires me to take a break and go on outdoor adventures with my friends.
The playlist description on Spotify is “every main character needs their soundtrack” and it really succeeds at reminding you that you are the main character in your story.
Favorite Podcasts:
Modern Love It isn’t very often that I listen to podcasts — but when I do it’s normally this one. As a single young adult, sometimes I get overwhelmed with loneliness and blame my flaws on exterior problems; especially since TikTok is constantly showing me stuff-of-dreams love stories.
Modern Love gives listeners a glimpse into the complicated love lives of real people with real lives. They aren’t trying to impress an audience with fabricated stories on a social media platform. Modern Love brings me back to the reality and beauty of what love really is.
Dissect I’m a lover of R&B and Hip-Hop music, so this is pretty much the only other podcast I have really listened to in depth. Dissect dives deep into albums, by dissecting lyrics to find the stories that music artists are telling their audience.
The episodes in this podcast always leave me feeling a lot of appreciation for musician’s transparency in their storytelling. It gives me a different sense of recognition to listen to an album I already liked, after listening to its dissection.
Karringtan Bell | Graduate Student
Favorite Motivational Playlist: Feeling Accomplished
I really like upbeat music. No matter what mood I’m in — the right song can get me through anything.
This playlist really helps me just forget about all the craziness life throws at me. I create my own world and it really helps my mental state. This list has songs that just make you feel good and ready to conquer that day.
Favorite Podcasts: We Said What We Said
The first podcast is my favorite podcast ever. Sometimes I can get wrapped up in what society and social media say is normal. It’s easy to start comparing others' lives to mine. But what better way to see that even influencers go through the same things that I go through.
This podcast between Rickey Thompson and Denzel Dion makes me feel like I’m chilling at home with my friends having a good time with real-life conversation about what’s going on in the world.
I listen to Goddess Confession when I need a little pick me up. In this podcast, Sheneka Adams shares her knowledge and life experiences that allow women to level up and constantly become a higher version of themselves. She talks about mental health, femininity, relationships, spirituality, fashion, and more to ensure that her listeners are changing, growing, and learning on their Goddess level up journey!
Austin Young
Digital Communication Specialist, NAU Social
Favorite Motivational Playlist: lofi hip hop music — beats to relax/study to
When it comes to the stress and intensity of daily life and work, I find that chill “Lo-fi” music helps me get through it all. The almost lyric free music is soothing to the ear and perfect for winding down and collecting your thoughts ensuring that you get into the rhythm of your work. It creates a sense of escape through texture-rich melodies and vibrant, artistic cover arts.
From my days as an undergrad working on a design project through the night to my current situation as full-time employee at NAU, I have found myself tuning into this legendary (as far as internet culture is concerned) and frankly quite popular playlist.
Favorite Podcasts
Staying connected to the world and staying in the know of things are both things that are of great importance to me, especially in this modern world.
I always look forward to starting and ending my day with a freshly updated NPR News update. Not only is it concise and convenient but it also helps me refrain from falling down into the rabbit hole where I spend spend hours time surfing across social media for my daily news fix.
(Bonus points: our local KNAU Arizona Public Radio Station does almost the same thing with a mix of local news and a large variety of programs.)
One of the best things you can do for yourself is to stay curious and to keep learning. With Every Little Thing, listeners can ask questions regardless of nature and have them answered by experts relating to the answer in little interviews. I’ve learned so many fascinating, random, and thought provoking tidbits ranging from Hollywood props to astronauts in Space. It’s helped me keep an open mind to both new things and new knowledge.
Becca Sullivan
NAU Social Intern, Sophomore
Favorite Motivational Playlist: Kobe Bryant Tribute: Mamba Mentality // Motivational Songs for Greatness
I’m a very determined person. Whether that be regarding academics, athletics, my health, filming, or just daily life, I always strive to be the best person I can possibly be. Kobe has always helped me achieve that and this playlist is always one I find myself coming back to. Kobe’s Mamba Mentality inspired millions and will continue to do so forever and by incorporating this playlist into my daily routine, I continually feel motivated and determined to achieve my goals whether they be short or long term. And this playlist has great songs for future hype videos :) .
Favorite Podcasts:
I’m sure most of us are familiar with YouTuber, Emma Chamberlain, and now she has a podcast! “Anything Goes” is a great series for when you’re on the go, doing homework, or just needing to pass time. Emma’s stories and topics she discusses are relevant and fascinating to listen to due to her being one of the most popular creators on Youtube.
It’s interesting to hear how she handles life as a teenager, while having millions of other teenagers eyes on her. She goes in-depth on what it’s like to live on her own in L.A., anxiety, realities of social media, and so much more. I definitely recommend this podcast, you won’t regret it!
As I said previously, I’m always looking for ways to improve in all aspects of my life and this podcast has helped tremendously in that process. “The Mindset Mentor” with Rob Dial is an amazing series and offers a significant amount of information to assist with altering your mindset to increase productivity, mindfulness, happiness, and determination.
Every episode offers something different and there’s constantly something new to take away to begin improving your mindset and lifestyle. Another great addition to this podcast is the guests Dial features on the show. From Kobe to Matthew McConaughey, this podcast will never leave you hanging.
Maria DeCabooter | NAU Social Manager
My music playlists are filled with happy, empowering songs. I love listening to songs with a beat that also have deeper messages. I put this playlist together for a 6am yoga class I got to teach.
While the pandemic put a halt in my yoga teaching, it didn’t put a dent in the power of this playlist to put a smile on my face and start the day off right.
Favorite podcasts
My favorite way to start the morning is to get up early, do yoga and start my day with affirmations.
While the idea of sitting and meditating might seem intimidating, the Think Positive podcast gives you 1 minute daily affirmations. They’re short and sweet. Start your day off with these and see how you feel after!
I’m extremely excited for Archewell audio project. The first episode shared slices of life from those impacted by the pandemic. At the end, however, the message was still one of encouragement and hope. I hope we can all take a piece of that and continue to move forward through that lens.
