Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude

Religion

I am not sure when I first heard the above quote or who I heard it from. Maybe I heard it when I was in the Air Force? But it’s one that I will never forget. This has been one of those quotes that has evolved over the years. It’s a universal truth that fits every stage of my life.

Having the right attitude is not just a principle you attempt to instill in your children, but having the right attitude is appropriate for everyone. I have found as you enter each era of life, a new attitude adjustment is necessary.

I would often tell my counselees that our life is broken into stages. New adjustments come with each stage of life, along with changing belief systems about how we handle conflicts and stress. I have had many couples tell me during marriage counseling, “My husband or wife is not the same person I married 20 years ago.” I would respond with a quick, “You should thank the Lord for that.” I would go on to explain that as life goes on people change. They change because of children, they mature, or they get a better grasp on what is important; or maybe they change because they are trying to find out who they are and what they are supposed to do with their life. Matter of fact, as I write this I am learning to make attitude adjustments as I enter a new stage of my life.

Why is having an attitude adjustment important? Listed below are a few reasons that are worth considering.

1. Human potential is directly connected to the ability to change – and most change requires an attitude adjustment. I am convinced that God has something new and exciting for us in each stage of our life, if we are willing to trust Him with our life. My good friend, Don Wagner, use to say, “God wants us planted in mid-air.” In other words, He wants us to trust Him so much that we have nothing to stand on but Him.

2. Change your attitude about happiness. God is not as concerned with our happiness as He is with our inner peace. If our goal is happiness then we are setting ourselves up for failure. The quest for happiness always leads to disappointment. Happiness says, if I just had(fill in the blank) then I would be happy. But God says, make your goal to pursue me and I will give you inner peace – which results in true happiness.

3. Attitude determines our vision. I am convinced that our dreams affect our determination. When we face challenges our attitude determines whether we will give up and quit or will plow through with God’s help and conquer. The Scripture says, “Without a vision the people perish.” God built within every person the ability to dream and visualize. A poor attitude will short circuit our dreams and hinder our creativity. When you stop dreaming you start dying.

4. A poor attitude could foster anger. Have you ever said, “That person makes me so angry. “ They didn’t make us angry, we made ourselves angry. We chose to be angry. They merely put our attitude to a test. Don’t let someone else control you by setting your attitude.

5. The older you get the more important it is to have a regular attitude checkup and adjustment. Remember with the changes of life come new attitudes and new opportunities for God to use you. What you have done in the past does not determine your worth – your worth comes from who you are in Christ. Let your past experience, your passion for God and the unique you combine to foster a healthy attitude as God leads you to new horizons.

Our attitude can be our biggest asset or it can be our greatest liability. We have the power to set our attitude to conquer the mountain or to beach our ship. When we are willing to abandon our life to the living Christ within us, and allow Him to change or tweak our attitude we can accomplish more than we ever dreamed. Put your trust in the sufficiency of Christ. The Apostle Paul says it best in Colossians 3:

Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ –that’s where the action is. See things from His perspective” (Colossians 3:1-2 – The Message)

What is your attitude? Remember, only you can control your attitude. Will you let the circumstances of life, or another person, affect your attitude or will you choose to be the master of your own attitude. Remember, as corny as it may sound, “Your attitude will determine your altitude.”

Blessings,
Larry

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