Do you feel appreciated? We certainly hope so! Margaret Cousins says, “Appreciation can make a day, even change a life.”
The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum shows that they know the value of expressing appreciation. Last Sunday was Appreciation Day there. It was a chance for the Arboretum to publically appreciate their members and do some special things for them. Also, recently the Arboretum had an event to show appreciation for their volunteers. The Arboretum recognizes the importance of acknowledging the efforts of those who not only support the Arboretum financially through their memberships, but also those who contribute their time and talent to make the Arboretum the award-winning botanical garden that it is.

When you have your eye exams you realize how important it is to have the correct eyeglass lens to see well, but do you also realize how important it is to have the correct attitude lens to look at life? We call the attitude lens a “life lens” because it contributes to how we see life and influences our feelings, decisions, actions and results. Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl said, “Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude.”

With summer wrapping up, many people are going back to school. While in school you learned a lot about math, science, English and the traditional subjects. These served you well in many ways but there are probably some life lessons that you learned along the way that have stuck with you for a lifetime. Philosopher Tom Bodett says, “The difference between school and life? In school they teach you a lesson and give you a test. In life, they give you a test that teaches you a lesson.” What are some of the life lessons you learned from your school days?

We have a question for you. How are you creative? We saw lots of creativity recently when we were at Art in the Garden at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. An artist incorporated an old metal tractor seat into a sculpture of a turkey. There were photographers, painters and people who made greeting cards. Jewelers turned stones and shells into beautiful jewelry. People made lovely cloth handbags, skirts and dresses and woodworkers crafted pens, bowls and platters. There was even birdseed formed into works of art so birds could enjoy the seed and people could enjoy the art. To view some of these artistic creations, use the video link at the end of this article.

Are you feeling overwhelmed, overworked or stressed out? Studies show that a vacation, or even a small break from your usual routine, may be just what the doctor orders. Some of the health benefits include the obvious such as reduced stress, feeling more refreshed and improved mood. As we looked at the upside of downtime further, we found even more dramatic benefits.

Here’s a question for you. In today’s world, when you hear negative news and challenges in the world, how do you stay positive and happy? That’s an important question because everyone wants to be positive and happy and it’s not always easy to do. We know people who purposely avoid listening to or watching the news because it seems to be, in their words, “a real downer.” Whether you feel that way or not, we wanted to share some strategies to be more positive and happy.

Have you ever been afraid? Of course, everyone has fear of something. Maybe your fear was over some smaller situation or maybe it involved a serious threat. Maybe you still have those fears. As success coaches we see how fear can stop people from achieving their best life .Just in case you have a few fears hanging around, we’ll share some strategies to help overcome them.