"Well adjusted"

I paused for a moment to consider what on earth the phrase meant...  I struck a blank.

I don't have children myself, but understand that parents most likely to breathe a sigh of relief to have their offspring described in these terms. 

What is it that we are expected to adjust to?  

What do we become when we adjust?

Phrases such as this intrigue and irritate me in equal measure.  So frequently used in common parlance, their true meaning becomes so obscure that it would be easy to slide over its usage and fail to consider the implications.

So, what becomes of those of us who might never be esteemed in this way?

Do we have any choice, but to adjust, and to do so well?

My inner rebel is shrieking, and then placidly sighing.  This adjective carries with it connotations of compliance for, to adjust, one must be doing so in relation to some standard or expectation, the achievement of which would therefore render one free of any symptom which would indicate struggle and/or discrepancy.  

So, what would the hallmarks of this elusive adjustment resemble?  

And, if we fail to adjust sufficiently in our formative years (and subsequently recognise this, or have it brought to our attention), how realistic is it to hope we might 'catch up' later in life?

"A well adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous"

Alexander Hamilton, American Statesman and Political Thinker (1757-1804)

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society"

Jiddu Krishnamurti, Theosophist Philosopher (1895-1986)