In ballet, an attitude is a particular position of the body. It involves balancing on one leg, while raising the other, bent at the knee, either en derriere, en avant, or a la seconde (to the back, front, or side). It's one of the most graceful, most recognized positions in ballet.

In aeronautics, attitude refers to the incline of an aircraft in relation to the horizon, to the ground, to the wind.

And in psychology, attitude has to do with an individual's perceptions or feelings toward a person, place, or thing. Attitudes can be positive or negative.

How do dancers learn to hold an attitude without falling? What must pilots do in order to maintain proper attitude in flight when faced with variable wind speeds, ground conditions, engine power and more to avoid crashing?

The answer is another "A" word... they learn to Adjust.

The dancer learns to adjust her weight between the supporting leg and the elevated leg and corresponding arm positions. The pilot adjusts the plane's speed to the external conditions with the position of the wing flaps and nose in order to maintain correct attitude in flight.

In other words, having a "good attitude" requires us to adjust to internal and external circumstances and situations.

"But I'm RIGHT!" We insist when the opportunity to adjust our attitude arises.
No, you might have BEEN right at some point, but once circumstances change, you will have to adjust YOUR attitude to maintain balance and "keep flying."

The willingness to adjust may be the key to continued progress and development, whether it's in marriage or parenting or business or any other area of life. Changes come (like it or not) and we have to constantly adjust ourselves to maintain proper position.

What is proper position? As believers in Christ Jesus, the proper attitude is the one that enables us to keep walking in love toward our fellow man, no matter what is going on around us. When we slip over into selfishness and judgment and fear and rejection and unforgiveness our attitude has slipped out of place.

I'm checking myself this week for places where I'm out of place, where my attitude is droopy or faltering, and asking God to help me make the necessary adjustments to get back in position! How about you? Got your leg up there where it's supposed to be?

(I'm a bit late this week, but be sure to check out the other A2Z Take 2 posts for the letter "A"!)