In the movie, Spiderman 2, Peter Parker goes through a major attitude adjustment. Peter Parker begins to take inventory of his life and realizes that even though he has superhuman powers and he's doing a lot of good things around the city; he convinces himself that his life stinks. He starts to believe that he will never live a normal life; he starts to get mad at
himself for not being able to have a normal relationship with the girl he loves, and on top of that, he's tired of being on call whenever someone gets into trouble. The bottom line is, Peter Parker was looking at life like a glass of water that's half empty instead of half full.

This movie shows us that in order for us to maximize our full potential in life, we have to look at life from a different perspective. We have to adjust the way we think and the way we see things. We have to ask ourselves is life really that bad or am I just looking at things with the wrong attitude. As we enter the last month of the Summer, it's not too early to
start preparing ourselves for the next school year. Even as you read this, how much money have you already spent on school clothes? How much money do you plan on spending on school clothes? Let me help you out with something else you're going to need for this upcoming school year, a new attitude!

Young people, you have to realize that good looks and smarts will only get you so far, but the right Attitude will get you farther in life than you could ever imagine. Think about it. How many times have you heard your parents say so and so may be the boss, but their attitude stinks. Or, that person may be in charge, but they shouldn't be around other people because
they don't know how to talk to people. Or what about this one, so and so really looks good, but they have a jacked up personality that makes them
seem ugly. Let me give you three things that you can do to help you accomplish some great things this year and not get caught up in the bad
attitude syndrome.

First of all you have to Practice being Positive (Phil 4:8-9). Anybody that's played any type of organized sports will tell you that the more you
practice something, they better you get at whatever you're trying to accomplish. You might also have to change the people you hang out with,
especially if they are negative. You have to do this because people with a negative attitude tend to rub off on others and begin to poison the
environment that's around them. The other thing you need to do in reference to being positive is take pressure off yourself. Whatever you're trying to accomplish is going to take some time and it's not going to change overnight, so don't put unrealistic time tables on yourself.

Second, you need to Create a Climate of Contentment (Phil 4:11-12). This is important because you need to know the difference between contentment and complacency. To be complacent means to have a nonchalant or lazy attitude
and this is negative. To be content means to be OK with your present situation because you know its going change in the near future. Another way
to create a climate of contentment is to recognize God when everything is going good and recognize that God still has your back when everything is not going good.

The third and final thing you need to do even before you step in the classroom is, you have to Set a Standard for Success (Phil 4:13). You must
have a mind for nice stuff and know that it's OK to want nice stuff as long as they don't turn into idols. So, be careful that you don't confuse true wealth with fool's gold (Bling, Bling). The other thing you need to do as
you set a standard for success is don't compromise your standards. Don't compromise things that you know are important to you achieving your goals this upcoming school year. So as you prepare for this new school year and
you throw out those old clothes; don't forget to throw out that old attitude and make room for your new one.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. - Philippians 2:5.
(NIV)