Always look for inspiration in nature to motivate yourself. We will grow as people and be successful if we keep in mind everyone and everything in our life can teach us something. Treat everyday life as a university. That will help anyone in school and life. There are some simple ways to show how nature can be our classroom.

1. Observe nature as often as possible.

Observing nature can teach us to keep our eyes wide open. We need to respect nature. When I moved to Canada, I went through a transit period of adjustment and change. I liken my move to trees.  Like an established tree, it has roots that extend well beyond the drip line of the tree. Roots are important in providing water and minerals as well as physical support for the tree. It is easy to see problems can arise when we cut its roots. Like a tree, you need time and support to establish new roots to strengthen one’s position in the environment. These changes do not come overnight. It takes patience and support from friends and family. Keep in mind change is not easy. However, with keeping in mind the above example, you can be on your way to establish yourself in your new environment anywhere in the world and be successful. For example, we can learn lessons about being flexible from nature. If you have ever experienced an ice storm or heavy snowstorm, observing trees will show you only the trees with highly flexible branches manage to avoid destruction. If you are not flexible, you will not be able to be highly successful. Many famous people observed nature before discovering their greatest ideas and inventions. For example, Albert Einstein, one of the greatest minds in history, always tried to learn something by looking at nature. You will be more successful in school and life if you do the same. When we fail at exams or an activity, we tend to get discouraged. They get the feeling something is wrong with them. If we look at a tree in nature, we can see that it takes time and effort to be successful.  A successful tree has to develop a trunk, branches and strong root to withstand the ups and down of the elements. A flower looks beautiful and at a glance, it appears it happened instantly. When we think deeper, it becomes clear that it takes time, sunlight, the right soil and the correct weather condition for the flowers to bloom. The examples above show that it takes hard work on many levels to produce success. We are all part of nature and by observing nature we can learn and take those lessons to enhance our lives.

2. Learn from nature.

Don’t just observe the nature. Try to learn as much from it as you can. We can learn a lot from watching and reading about animals. For example, persistence is a quality animals have developed in order to survive. Through observing and using nature, we learn we can achieve our goals through persistence. Here are some examples of persistence in the animal kingdom from my book, Keys to Success at School and Beyond:

• The cheetah is the fastest animal on land, but only 5 out of 10 hunting attempts yield a successful result.
• The African lion is the second biggest cat and the king of the animal kingdom. It has been observed that, in spite of hunting as a team, their hunting success rate is only 3 out of 10.
• The great white shark is an apex hunter of the seas and has no natural predators. It can be more than 7 metres (23 feet) long. Yet despite this, only around 5 out of 10 hunts are successful.
• Golden eagles, with their majestic look, are masters of the skies. It has been observed that typically only 3 out of 10 of their hunting attempts are successful.
• Killer whales have no natural predators and hunt as a team. Eight out of 10 hunts are successful.

There is one interesting thing we can learn from the above examples of using nature as a guide. Do not give up until you are successful. You should always be persistent, because if you give up too early, you will never achieve your goals.

3. Play in nature

Being out in nature has some significant benefits. Playing in nature will advance our motor fitness, including coordination, balance and agility. Get outside. Go for a walk or ride bikes. In addition, it will teach us to be more creative and improve our cognitive development by improving our awareness, reasoning and observational skills. So, don’t wait anymore. Go outside and visit the nearby forest, or go climb the mountains. It will not only help your expand your learning capacity, but it will also help you adjust to change quickly. Like a good gardener taking care of trees in his garden, we can make sure we put ourselves in the best position for success. The more we plan and think about our environment, the higher is the likelihood of overall success in coming years.