Today’s word of the day is resolution. Pronounced / ˌrɛz əˈlu ʃən / (there could be, I suppose, be a word pronounced /’ri sə ‘lu ʃən /, which would be spelled re-solution, but I cannot find it except perhaps on the OED website, where it’s behind a paywall), resolution has a bunch of definitions:

1. a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club, or other group.
2. the act of resolving or determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc.
3. a resolve; a decision or determination.
4. the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.
5. the act or process of resolving or separating something into constituent or elementary parts.
6. the resulting state.
7. Optics. the act, process, or capability of distinguishing between two separate but adjacent objects or sources of light or between two nearly equal wavelengths.
8. a solution, accommodation, or settling of a problem, controversy, etc.
9. Music.
   1. the progression of a voice part or of the harmony as a whole from a dissonance to a consonance.
   2. the tone or chord to which a dissonance is resolved.
10. reduction to a simpler form; conversion.
11. Medicine/Medical. the reduction or disappearance of a swelling or inflammation without suppuration.
12. the degree of sharpness of a computer-generated image as measured by the number of dots per linear inch in a hard-copy printout or the number of pixels across and down on a display screen. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/resolution

The word first appears in English in the “late 14c., resolucioun, ‘a breaking or reducing into parts; process of breaking up, dissolution,’ from Old French resolution (14c.) and directly from Latin resolutionem (nominative resolutio) ‘process of reducing things into simpler forms,’ noun of action from past-participle stem of resolvere ‘to loosen’ (see resolve (v.)).

From the notion of ‘process of resolving or reducing a non-material thing into simpler forms”’ (late 14c.) as a method of problem-solving comes the sense of ‘a solving’ (as of mathematical problems), which is recorded by 1540s, as is that of ‘power of holding firmly, character of acting with a fixed purpose’ (compare resolute (adj.)).

The meaning ‘steadfastness of purpose’ is by 1580s. The meaning ‘effect of an optical instrument in rendering component parts of objects distinguishable’ is by 1860. In Middle English it also could mean ‘a paraphrase’ (as a breaking up and rearranging of a text or translation). 

In mid-15c. it also meant ‘frame of mind,’ often implying a pious or moral determination. By 1580s as ‘a statement upon some matter;’ hence ‘formal decision or expression of a meeting or assembly,’ c. 1600. The New Year’s resolution in reference to a specific intention to better oneself is from at least the 1780s, and through 19c. they generally were of a pious nature” (https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=resolution).

I have never heard it used in the sense of “a paraphrase,” though I have heard reduce used in a similar manner.

If you Google “New Year’s resolution,” you will find a bunch of hits advising you about resolutions you should try in 2026. One website offers 65 “achievable” resolutions. Another offers the 101 “Best” resolutions. One offers 26 “realistic” resolutions. One hit proclaims, “18 ideas for New Year’s resolutions (and how to stick to them).” I’m guessing that if you’re providing advice about how to “stick to them,” you don’t have room for as many. But for most people, creating one resolution to follow is too much.

“Most people set New Year’s resolutions with real optimism and motivation. Yet a large portion of those abandon them well before the end of the first month (Gracia, 2024; Morin, 2024). In fact, evidence suggests that only 8 to 9 percent of people achieve their New Year’s goals (Batts, 2023)” (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychology-insights-for-a-new-world/202512/the-hidden-forces-behind-new-years-resolutions).

“Superficial explanations in the popular media often attribute the failure of New Year’s resolutions to the following:

          Overly ambitious, unrealistic, or poorly defined goals

           Insufficient clarity, specificity, planning, or resources

           Unsustained motivation that fades over time

While these explanations may contain some truth, they describe symptoms rather than underlying causes. They fail to address the deeper mechanisms that shape behavior change” (ibid.).

But Sebastian Salicru suggests, in Psychology Today, that the problem is not those surfacy symptoms but in maladaptive schemas: “Maladaptive schemas are enduring, negative, self-defeating, and self-reinforcing patterns or core themes that remain unconscious. They operate as internal filters through which we interpret ourselves and the world around us. Such schemes shape our emotional responses and behavioral tendencies automatically and often invisibly (Young et al., 2003).

“Some of the most common patterns I observe in my practice include a tendency to either surrender to or avoid tasks when confronted with obstacles or challenges, an extremely high standard of performance that leads to perfectionism, or people-pleasing behavior.

“Because schemas tend to operate below conscious awareness, their influence is frequently overly underestimated. This mechanism explains why, despite their intense motivation and genuine commitment, most people inadvertently undermine their efforts and sabotage their goals” (ibid.)

So now you know why I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. How can I fight those maladaptive schemas?

But I will make one resolution: I will stop reading articles from Psychology Today.

Today’s image is from Take Flight Learning (https://takeflightlearning.com/set-new-years-resolutions-that-match-your-personality/) and accurately portrays my list of New Year’s resolutions.