Being a dog mom is different from having human kids because my dog never talks back, sleeps through the night, and thinks I'm perfect. But he also can't tell me he loves me or grow up to change the world. Different kinds of love, both precious.
The green flags I look for when dating are how he treats service workers, whether he asks questions about my life, if he has his own goals and friendships. Also, does he enhance my life or complicate it? Green flag: enhancement.
The worst dating advice I've ever received was "play hard to get." Bestie, I AM hard to get because I'm a whole entire catch! I don't play games - I show interest when I'm interested and keep it moving when I'm not. Life's too short for games.
Faith plays a huge role in my decision-making - I pray for wisdom, then listen to my intuition. I believe God speaks through our inner knowing when we're quiet enough to listen. Faith gives me courage to take aligned action.
My personal motto or guiding principle is "Do it scared." Fear is just excitement without breath. Most of my best decisions were made when I was terrified but did it anyway.