You Can Gain A Lot More Confidence By Listening To These Songs
Check out the music that will improve and sustain your self-belief
I’m a naturally ambitious person. I always have been. I’m not sure where it came from. It may have been in me when I was born, or it may have resulted from my parent’s constant encouragement. I accepted their positive affirmations for me as truth and acted accordingly. Without a doubt, they were building my self-esteem piece by piece and year after year, unbeknownst to me. Therefore, since I can remember, whenever I would start something, I felt the ambition activated. It would motivate me to keep going until I hit my mark.
Over the years, this ambition helped me get into great schools, book awesome trips, and find excellent jobs. It’s even helped me in the dating scene. However, over time, I noticed something.
The older I got, the more I realized how unusual it was to keep your ambition. I knew many people in my teens and early twenties who had it, but by the time we neared 30, most were either complete cynics or people of growing complacency. With that, I’ve been finding it harder and harder to find others with similar self-esteem levels as me these days.
The more I researched data related to my anecdotes, the more I found the mental health crisis a national trend, especially around young people. For instance, Harmony Healthcare IT found that 42% of Gen Z were diagnosed with a mental health condition. Across all adults over 18, about 12.5% of them experience regular feelings of worry, nervousness, or anxiety, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Fortunately, a lot of these mental health disorders decrease over time, and the Centers for Disease Control found that adults currently working reported feelings of worry, nervousness, or anxiety less frequently than those who were unemployed.
Like any person, I have my moments of insecurity or doubt. What’s helped me is that I usually don’t stay in those moods for long. One of the drivers that has got me out of those moody periods is music.
In today’s piece, I wanted to share some songs that helped me over the years, reminded me about the goals I wanted to achieve, and reignited my ambition. I hope these songs help guide people through tough times. If you find yourself deep in the dark in what feels like a long tunnel of hopelessness, consider the tracks below as the light at the end of it to guide you. At the bottom of this piece, I will also share a longer playlist of 50 songs I listen to resurrect my self-esteem over time.
For each song, I will do the following:
- Summarize The Song
- Explain How The Song Fueled My Ambition
Song #1 — Power (remix) by Ye (Kanye West)
Song Summary
There’s no other artist on this planet I would instead have started this list. On the Power remix, Ye drops bomb after bomb of ferociously braggadocious and inspiring lines. The song came during his famed G.O.O.D. Friday’s release series represented the high bar he set for himself during this comeback season.
To start the track is the legendary Jay-Z, who orchestrated a short but memorable verse, articulating how hard it is to maintain your sanity the more power you obtain. By the end of his concise and excellent verse, Jay sides with Ye in the Taylor Swift drama and lets the people know sometimes we all need to speak truth to power through others.
Soon after, Ye, with Swizz Beats hyping him up even more the whole time, delivers one of his most iconic verses to date. Even though the original version was a popular single then, this remix demonstrated Ye’s attention to lyricism and his ability to take even some of his best work to an unimaginably high level.
How The Song Has Fueled My Ambition
Ye, in general, is a monumental figure when it comes to the development of my self-confidence. A few years before this song, I became inspired, at around 12, to forge my path and believe in myself thanks to songs like “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “The Glory.”
I still remember when those songs and Graduation were Ye’s newest music and just how heroic and untouchable he seemed to me. In many ways, he still feels that way in my eyes. When the G.O.O.D. Friday series dropped, and I was jamming the songs and talking about them with my friends between high school classes.
I still remember downloading the song on my Android Droid and playing it nonstop in the halls, tapping my fingers on the lockers as I walked by. The song felt like a road map where you could set the building blocks and trust the process. In the meantime, the Power remix helped me recognize my potential and fueled me to continue going down frustrating paths to achieve my goals.
While Ye has been incredibly controversial and problematic over the years, on balance, he’s been a net positive for my personal and professional growth.
Song #2 — See It To Believe It by J. Cole
Song Summary
On top of cinematic and yawning strings, J. Cole does his best to manifest his dreams verbally. “See It To Believe It” was released in 2011 before the release of Cole’s studio debut album, Cold World: Sideline Story. The song was released in a year filled with delays for the young rap star. To keep his mind on his goal, he created See It To Believe. In the track, Cole reminded himself of his ultimate prize, hip-hop acclaim, and demonstrated gratitude for all he had accomplished up to that point.
How The Song Has Fueled My Ambition
I remember when this track came out like it was yesterday. I must be partially responsible for a couple thousand of the song’s YouTube views, one of the only places you can hear this song. It never made it on any official mixtape or album of his.
I was in my latter years of high school and used this song to map out my life after high school. While my prospects were unknown and the possibilities endless, I used this song to enter into this new period of my life with insurmountable fortitude and drive. Wherever I was going, I would think after listening to this song, I would do my best.
Song #3 — Rather Unique by AZ
Song Summary
“Rather Unique” was an album highlight from AZ’s instant classic record Do Or Die. The track featured a vibe-inducing Pete Rock beat where AZ described his rough upbringing and the success he achieved despite it. Through mesmerizing flows and memorable lines, AZ lit a fire under any listener to strive for their greatest potential, no matter where they come from.
How The Song Has Fueled My Ambition
I fondly remember walking home from school or track practice and talking with my friends about hip-hop. Some friends were into the newer acts at the time, like Kid Cudi, Wiz Khalifa, and Mac Miller. Others were devoted scholars of the golden era of hip-hop. Albums like All Eyez On Me and Life After Death were heavily debated and discussed, pushing friends into their taste corners. AZ, on the other hand, was a unifying artist and brought us together in those days.
The song “Rather Unique” drove me to be the best articulator and thinker I could be. Back then, it was essential to make a strong argument, stick to it, and be able to defend it against the harshest offenses. The beloved 90’s rap tune will permanently be attached to those glory days.
Song #4 — Electric Feel by MGMT
Song Summary
MGMT was at the front lines of the newest sounds within electronic music when they released their debut album, Oracular Spectacular. Their music also helped usher in a new generation of electronic-based rock music fans. Before that consequential album, young millennials learned to appreciate synth-pop through the blueprint of duos like Daft Punk and Justice. Therefore, for us Americans, MGMT felt like our slice of the scene and an avant-garde presence in the upcoming decade of musical exploration and discovery. Thematically, the songs on Oracular, particularly “Electric Feel,” took us on a journey of electrifying and dangerous early love.
How The Song Has Fueled My Ambition
In those middle school years, when everything felt new and risky, “Electric Feel” was the soundtrack to my life. It encouraged me to dive in head first when I felt the adolescent versions of infatuation and adoration for girls. The song gave me romantic courage and permission to engage with emotions that still felt foreign. Over the years, I’ve found love to be one of the best emotions to tap into and exist in with people, and I constantly get reminded when I listen to electric feel where the foundation for that liberty comes from.
Song #5 — Doesn’t Matter (voyeur de soleil) by Christine and the Queens
Song Summary
“Doesn’t Matter” has always been a magnificent song because it gives the listener the power to let go. Driving further into the Anglo-pop world, French singer Christine and the Queens shined on the spectacular retro synth-pop double album, Chris. The album’s charm has a lot to do with its structure. The first half of the project is a set of 11 passionate English pop songs.
In the second half, she shows off and sings the same 11 songs but in French. She also adds a unique French song that isn’t in the first half, making the album’s second half 12 songs. I love a good crossover album, and this album crossed over one of the brightest stars in Europe to American audiences that needed to hear her music.
How The Song Has Fueled My Ambition
Despite the song’s upbeat production and club-like hook, it’s a dark track about suicide. Not only that, but it’s a song about not taking the world and all of its ridiculous hypocrisies too seriously because, in the end, nothing matters. At first glance, this could feel upsetting and even a bit disappointed. However, I quickly embraced the song for its straightforward and black-and-white approach to the daily struggles of just living life.
Sure, things are bonkers half the time, but if nothing matters, then everything is essential, and we can make what matters to us the most critical thing in the world and work towards that. With those guidelines in front of me, thanks to this song, I felt strengthened by the lyrics and supported by its message as I continued to chase and conquer my goals.
Song #6 — All My Heroes Are Cornballs by JPEGMAFIA
Song Summary
Peggy’s meteoric rise in hip-hop as an experimental hip-hop artist is the story of legend. “All My Heroes Are Cornballs” represents the heart of the album of the same name. Making it in the rigid hierarchical genre with out-of-the-box production and style, Peggy is flaunting his accomplishments, especially to his haters. It took blood, sweat, and tears, and Peggy isn’t afraid to let us know. Sonically, the song takes several orchestral twists and turns, ultimately erupting into this cathartic crescendo.
How The Song Has Fueled My Ambition
I was working in China then and was already familiar with Peggy and his unique position in the genre. His audacity was infectious, and despite the unorthodoxy of his music, he sounded remarkably confident in its success. I loved this song when it was a single and even more when I heard it in the context of the album.
Working in China was hard as I taught at a university for over a hundred students for a year. Listening to “All My Heroes” and internalizing the self-belief Peggy was demonstrating on the track was extremely helpful in getting me through my most difficult moments that year.
Song #7 — Home To Me by Tennille Townes
Song Summary
Tennille Townes is a coveted roots artist from Alberta, Canada, and she is making enormous strides in the American country scene. Her soulful and virtuoso approach to country music is breaking through thanks to outstanding location EPs like the Living Room Worktapes and Train Track Worktapes.
“Home To Me” is one of the project highlights for the Train Track Worktapes and features Townes’s reconciling her love for travel with her passion for this person. Ultimately, she concludes that home isn’t an exact place but a feeling you have when you’re with the people you love.
How The Song Has Fueled My Ambition
As a frequent traveler myself, this song resonated with me immediately. I’ve wrestled with the song’s themes for years, but around the time this song came out, only in April 2023, did I conclude that I’m always going to travel. On that travel, I will have this strong sense of home.
Therefore, the places I go to will no longer have greener grass, but it will be an exercise in me singing about how my neighbor’s grass is more prepared. The behaviors and items I pick up on travel will always return home with me. Living with all of these influences is an ambitious feat because I intend to cover a lot of land in my life, and each time, I want to feel a strong sense of home and belonging despite being far from home.
Song #8 — Just Fine by Chris Brown
Song Summary
The adage “It’s not you, it is me” is alive and well in the classic Chris Brown song, “Just Fine.” In his self-titled debut, the song “Just Fine” was an overlooked album highlight in a project complete with chart-topping hits.
Placed nearly in the middle of the tracklist, “Just Fine” felt like a tremendously mature love song where Brown was helping his ex-partner make amends for their failed relationship and healthily move on to better things. Not only was this song filled with extreme and inspiring humility, but the song’s bright chords and progressive R&B brought this theme to life.
How The Song Has Fueled My Ambition
“Just Fine” made me ambitious in my relationships. I’ve found that breakups were more brutal when I didn’t think my partner or I would move on to someone better. It may have been an insecurity, but I believe it was more a pessimism about the rest of the world and what it had to offer.
However, after relistening to “Just Fine” and finally having some life experience to apply the lyrics, I found a new perspective for my relationship. Going forward, I ambitiously leaped out of my relationships and happily tried things out with new people with an optimistic eye toward to the future.
Song #9 — Too Much by Sufjan Stevens
Song Summary
If you only look at the lyrics of this song and don’t hear the music, you may not expect much from the song. It reads unbelievably basic and underwhelming. However, “Too Much” feels more profound and fantastical when you observe how the lyrics mix with the song’s building a baroque pop sound. It sounded like the music Alice may have heard when she was falling into wonderland.
Thematically, Stevens was battling love itself and figuring out, through practice, how to make a complicated relationships work. Throughout the track, we hear the different stages of Steven’s frustration and challenges. Sometimes, the song sounded joyous and euphoric; other times, it sounded dismal and haunting. Ultimately, “Too Much” was orchestral-based electro-pop at its most ambitious and extraordinary.
How The Song Has Fueled My Ambition
This song showed me how much one can do with so little. Thanks to Stevens proving how much emotion can go into just a few words repeated over 6 minutes, I felt empowered to make fruits of labor despite not having much money growing up. For instance, even though money may not have been available to me, many things were available to me: For example, people, institutions, the internet, books, and music were all available no matter where I was. Therefore, even though the pressure was high and the stress was neverending, the results came down to the work I was willing to put into any task. Stevens sounded like he had worked on that song for months, and if I wanted to make my dreams come true, I knew I had to dedicate just as much time to my goals.
Song #10 — Two Birds, One Stone by Drake
Song Summary
“Two Birds, One Stone” may be the greatest Drake loosie he ever released. He dropped the song in late October, a special time for the artist known as October’s Very Own. “Two Birds One Stone” came in a three-pack of tunes, representing the raw, fearless, bars-conscious side of Drake. On top of a very sparse yet haunting beat, Drake tackled his opponents like a fullback on the front line of a football game.
This song featured some much-awaited shots at Pusha and T and Kid Cudi, two older hip-hop artists trashing Drake in the media and music lately. In return, Drake gave a scathing rebuke towards both, targeting their drug-rap lies and weak mental state. Drake wanted to stay on top of the hip-hop game, and thanks to songs like “Two Birds,” he comfortably remained there.
How The Song Has Fueled My Ambition
I could still hear myself breathing heavily outside while this track was on. I was living in Texas at the time, working for this AmeriCorps program, and would play this song on daily runs outside our cabin. I look back at that time with rose-tinted glasses because of how clean the air smelt and how close we were to nature. You couldn’t walk ten steps without seeing a dear close by.
One of my favorite things during downtime was running throughout the campsite and exploring parts of the grounds. I would start my runs with “Two Birds, One Stone” each time to get my heart pumping and my mind excited. I was 22 back then and had a lot of goals in my mind at the time — I wanted to go to grad school, work abroad, and get into or work at an Ivy League school. Ultimately, I wanted to be on top of any field I worked in. While I concisely accomplished my specific work goals, I can’t help but credit the sheer focus and razor-sharp vision of “Two Birds, One Stone.”
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