"Know what you want. Become your real self."

-- David Harold Fink

Hi everyone,

I just love the words of Jen Louden. Hope you'll resonate with her message here today.

~ Patrice

Spring is singing its siren song in my ear right about now.

I want to play!

I don't want to work (pout, stamp foot).

But I have to!

Who says?

One of the places I get stuck is in believing I have to make myself do things I don't feel like doing.

I have to stick with the plan, the to-do list, the have tos and musts or I will never do anything again.

I am not allowed to want what I want when I want it.

Yet I know that when I force myself to move ahead when there is no desire, I move slower, make more mistakes, get less done, and most of all, I don't enjoy myself.

If I do this long enough, I lose my joy for life. ...

I want to trust that what I hear when I ask "What would I love to do next?" will guide me and I will still be able to pay the bills and tend my daughter and create good stuff. Maybe not weed the garden or clean the windows but who cares? ...

I want to trust myself to listen to what I need and to give it to myself.

How about you?

With love,
Jen Louden

"To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you ought to prefer is to have kept your soul alive."

-- Robert Louis Stevenson

Jen Louden, the Comfort Queen, devotes her life to helping women create a life based on self-kindness and self-compassion. Her newest book is The Life Organizer: A Woman's Guide to A Mindful Year and her newest project is the Comfort Cafe. Find all her books and retreats and her Cafe at http://www.jenniferlouden.com.

P.S. Just a reminder that the 'women at heart' forum is up. If you're keen to connect with like-minded women, please post so we can get some interaction going. Visit http://www.women-at-heart.com/community and click register to get started.