No one can stay in a good mood all the time, but you can feel pretty good most of the time if you put your mind to it. Too many of us fall into the trap of slipping into negative, self-pitying, depressed, angry or other states that don't feel very good.

When we feel good, we are not only happier, but more pleasant to be around, more productive and, according to many Law of Attraction teachers, magnetic to the good things in life.

Here are some guidelines to help you stay positive the vast majority of the time. Now, it is natural for certain traumatic or extremely disturbing events to make us feel angry, sad or afraid. Yet, for most of us, it is the little things that keep us from feeling good. While we certainly don't want to attract crisis into our lives, the really serious "negative" events often inspire us to find the courage or mental strength to face them. Again, it's the small stuff, the daily annoyances of everyday life that tend to sneak up on people.

** Make peace with the clock. Constantly being in a hurry is a major cause of stress for many people. If you have to, leave the house earlier; plan for delays. But most importantly, keep in mind that worrying about time will not make you more efficient. If you are stuck in traffic, for example, take some deep breaths, put on some good music or an audio-book or think about something else. There is absolutely nothing you can do to change the road conditions, so stop letting it get to you.

** Watch what you eat and drink for energy. If you are constantly consuming sugar, caffeine, "energy drinks" or other short-term mood/energy enhancers, you are setting yourself up for crashes. Replace these with nutritious foods that control mood and blood sugar, like nuts (almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds are good).

** Be an Actor, not a Reactor. Remember, you can't control how other people behave or what they say. If people are constantly annoying you, you are probably taking things personally. Unless someone's behavior is an actual threat to your life or that of someone you care about, you probably don't have to be concerned about it. If someone is rude, lazy, inconsistent, untruthful, or has some other quality that bothers you, take that into consideration when dealing with them. If you can, avoid them whenever possible, if that's what seems to be the best solution. But don't let them "get" to you. It's not worth it, and it's very unlikely you are going to be able to get them to change anyway.

** If you don't do so now, take up a meditative type practice. This can be an actual sitting meditation, or an exercise like Thai Chi or a gentle form of yoga (strenuous forms of yoga can be good for health, but for now I'm talking about quieting the mind) or even long walks. In all of these, concentrate on taking long, relaxing breaths. Try to empty your mind, or keep it focused on your breathing or on your immediate surroundings. Don't use this time to rehash stressful thoughts or experiences!

** Pay attention to your moods! Think of bad moods as a kind of emotional quicksand. If you pay attention, you can avoid stepping in it. Or if you sense the ground getting soft, you can take a different path. But if you aren't paying attention, you just sink deeper and deeper until you are in a real funk. When you start to feel this "quicksand" under you, immediately do something to divert yourself. If you are sitting down, get up and take a short walk (even if you are at the office). If you are in a situation where this isn't possible (stuck in traffic, to use this example again), you can still make an effort to change your state. Breathe deeply; look around in all directions, including up, towards the sky. If you are at home, you can even do something mindless like turn on the television or read a mystery novel. If you spend many hours at such escapes, this can be a problem, but for short amounts of time, to change your mood, they can be effective. Some kind of exercise can be helpful as well. The point is, when you feel yourself starting to sink into a bad mood, don't just passively let it happen -make a change of some kind.