25 Dating Commandments for Single Women

My life has become dedicated to helping others who are struggling with issues of the heart, so please pass this along to anyone who needs guidance. Take what I say with a grain of salt. I'm human, and I'm not perfect. But my heart is in the right place, and hopefully, I can make a few people laugh.

With that said, here's my list for hopeful romantics to get 'er done:

1. We will not be desperate. You heard me. Live your life; enjoy your passions. Put the cell phone down, and stop texting. For the love of God, let the guy pursue you.

2. We will give "Mr. Nice Guy" a chance and stop dating the player. Please cease and desist giving away your goods to a man you barely know.

3. We will teach Nice Guy a few of the player's bedroom moves. Passion is fun, after all.

4. We will not shave our legs before a first date. We need a little insurance policy. You know what I'm talking about.

5. We will engage in PDA. When we're not in church, all deals are off!

6. We will not abandon the rest of our lives—including relationships with friends and family—just because we’ve met someone new. Or put off applying for unemployment or food stamps, if need be.

7. When he sends us a single line text, we will refrain from sending three text messages, a Facebook post and a poke in responding—or the pic we send when we're drunk and feeling flirty.

8. We will smile at handsome strangers on a daily basis. Oh yes, thank you, Lord for eye candy! P.S. Enrique Iglesias: I'm single and available.

9. We will refrain from private messages with men in relationships. Period.

10. We will stop telling ourselves we are too old, too plump, too busy, have too many kids, too boring or too short for love. We are only short of hot looking men pursuing us.

11. We will quit sexting cold turkey. The guy who sends us an unsolicited pic is toast.

12. We will make a habit of looking hot before we walk out the door—just in case we have a run-in with Mr. Right or Mr. Hot and Single.

13. We will invest less in thinking about marriage and more about retirement. After all, being independent is sexy to the opposite sex.

14. We will not use Facebook to air our life drama. When we're darn sure the man is going to stick around, we'll change our status to "in a relationship."

15. We will stop kissing frogs hoping for the fairytale romance. They remain frogs, but our rose-colored glasses make them into Antonio Banderas.

16. We will learn to trust our intuition more—and take the advice of our friends and family with a healthy grain of salt. Listening is a virtue.

17. We will get out of our comfort zone to meet men. Meaning: Love won't come knocking on your door, so head out and get a life!

18. We will cut all ties to cheaters. Hats off to Sandra, Halle and Reese.

19. We will not be afraid to define the relationship before we sleep with men. But for safety, refer to No. 2.

20. We will ignore all of our silly dating “deal breakers” involving height, eye color, nerdiness and shoe size. But he must respect us, can't be a sociopath, and for goodness sake, he better shoot chemistry darts with his glance.

21. We will write new dating must-haves that include kindness, honesty, love and commitment—and surprises us with little nothings because he is a sentimental fool.

22. We will use our backbones more often than our wishbones when it comes to love.

23. We will spend more time with guys who make us laugh and less time with guys who make us cry.

24. We will enjoy living our lives to the fullest, and only include the men worthy of our precious free time to savor them together. "Settling" is for sand on the ocean floor.

25. We will cherish the kind of person who brings added joy to our already awesome lives. Bonus points if they make us laugh or are good dancers. Good cook? Get outta here.

Love yourself, love each other and don't take a moment for granted.

What tips would you add to this list?

For more dating tips, visit San Diego Single Parent Dating Examiner.