Don't waste even a minute magnifying your perceived inadequacies. You can't do it all. Why berate yourself for not achieving the impossible?

Protect yourself like you would your cubs - as a grown woman, you're no one's cub anymore.

It's OK to have a plan, to invest in your future - for your financial security, your love life, your personal fulfillment, and even your happiness. To have personal happiness as a stated goal doesn't detract from it if you get there.

Make as much money as you can. It really does help. I don't know why it's terrible to say, but it's true.

Never have anyone else carry your luggage. Pack only what you need.

As a working mother, the last thing you need is to be hard on yourself. As a stay-at-home mother, the last thing you need is to be hard on yourself. As a twenty something with no job prospects or life partner in sight, the last thing you need is to be hard on yourself.