There is an incredibly easy way to get into trouble these days -- simply start thinking. Thinking can lead to over-analysis, insane, irrational behavior and, in the worse case scenario, even suicide. It also makes your back hurt.

This does not mean, however, you should ramble through your day totally oblivious to everyone and everything around you -- although they do tell me that ignorance is bliss. Refrain from truly mindless activities such as jaywalking through a stream of fire trucks or eating rocks. But you should not let crazy thoughts dig into you, hooking and dragging you to ugly places in your head.

I know from experience that thoughts tend to overwhelm and can lead you off like a galloping horse into all kinds of wacky mind sets. And it’s rarely Black Beauty doing the trotting here, it’s a haggard, dysfunctional mare that most likely limps -- or else it’s a two-ton freight train that’s fully off-track and careening out of control. Or it leads to the aforementioned backache...

This morning I woke up fine after pulling a muscle yesterday at the gym. "Hey," I said to myself, "This is great...my back doesn’t hurt anymore." Sure enough, the minute I thought that and in the span of about .052 seconds, my lower lumbar region started to ache.

It’s the same with happiness -- you can be surfing through your day on cloud 109 with silver satin lining and a velvet footrest, only to be popped from your bubble by asking yourself "Am I happy?" After all, if you have to ask if you’re happy, it means that you’re not. Or at least it wrecks the moment. So don’t start thinking about how you are "living in the moment," either, lest that moment instantly evaporate quicker than dew droppings left in the sun.

I don’t know about you, but I spend way too much mental energy wasted on trivial thoughts like what to wear, what scent of skin lotion to apply, or what to eat for lunch. This is AFTER I am showered, dressed and have my lunch packed.

As an artist and writer, I also tend to create these elaborate, fictional screenplays in my head -- who will say what when to whom, how angry or annoyed I’ll get -- what I shall say in return, etc. etc. etc. Needless to say, these ugly scenes never even happen (thank God) but I still allow them the power to overcome me, giving me one of those tight-browed headaches that even three Advil and a Camomile tea can’t shake.

I know I am not alone with these things. One man said his thoughts were off running the marathon. I told him mine must then be in a high-impact step class. Ahh, if only we could burn calories from these mind aerobics, America would have the obesity problem nipped in the bud.

One way to guard against thought galloping syndrome is to over-ride nasty thoughts with pleasant ones. Just as you can "brain wash" yourself into a negative mind set, strive for a positive. First off, we can begin by word choice. Stop calling it "brain wash" and instead term it "positive affirmations." Take the advice of a wise young woman I heard: drop certain words from your vocabulary. Eradicate "try," "can’t," "won’t," or "should have." Instead use "am doing," "can," or "will." Watch this: "I may try it" turns into the definitive "I’ll do it!"

Keeping active also helps. Don’t forget that "an idle mind is the devil’s playground." I also recently read that there ARE NO idle thoughts...so even the seemingly benign could be brewing for some future paranoia. Immersing yourself in and around things and people you love will help quell the desire to ferry off into "negative la la land." This does not mean, however, you should run yourself ragged to the ground so you collapse into a heap unable to think quite at all (a practice I am frequently fond of to combat mid-week woes). But don’t sit in the corner, legs crossed and face crunched, expecting your mind to instantly clear itself because you have simply had enough.

Clearing your head can be achieved, however, by a valuable dose of meditation, talking with others, or the simple yet cliché "Move a muscle, change a thought." You may also wish to indulge in a concept borrowed from Buddhist teachings one of my friends thankfully reminds me: If you don’t like a thought, don’t think about it!