{"id":7221,"date":"2026-01-01T23:29:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T23:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/?p=7221"},"modified":"2026-01-01T23:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T23:30:14","slug":"word-of-the-day-resolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/2026\/01\/01\/word-of-the-day-resolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Word of the Day: Resolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today\u2019s word of the day is resolution<\/em>. Pronounced \/ \u02ccr\u025bz \u0259\u02c8lu \u0283\u0259n \/ (there could be, I suppose, be a word pronounced \/\u2019ri s\u0259 \u2018lu \u0283\u0259n \/, which would be spelled re-solution<\/em>, but I cannot find it except perhaps on the OED website, where it\u2019s behind a paywall), resolution has a bunch of definitions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club, or other group.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. the act of\u00a0resolving\u00a0or determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. a\u00a0resolve; a decision or determination.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. the mental state or quality of being\u00a0resolved\u00a0or\u00a0resolute; firmness of purpose.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. the act or process of resolving or separating something into constituent or elementary parts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. the resulting state.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Optics.<\/em>\u00a0the act, process, or capability of distinguishing between two separate but adjacent objects or sources of light or between two nearly equal wavelengths.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. a solution, accommodation, or settling of a problem, controversy, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Music.<\/em>\n
      \n
    1. the progression of a voice part or of the harmony as a whole from a dissonance to a consonance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. the tone or chord to which a dissonance is resolved.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. reduction to a simpler form; conversion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Medicine\/Medical.<\/em>\u00a0the reduction or disappearance of a swelling or inflammation without suppuration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. 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<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      The word first appears in English in the \u201clate 14c., resolucioun<\/em>, \u2018a breaking or reducing into parts; process of breaking up, dissolution,\u2019 from Old French resolution<\/em> (14c.) and directly from Latin resolutionem<\/em> (nominative resolutio<\/em>) \u2018process of reducing things into simpler forms,\u2019 noun of action from past-participle stem of resolvere<\/em> \u2018to loosen\u2019 (see resolve<\/strong><\/a> (v.)).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      From the notion of \u2018process of resolving or reducing a non-material thing into simpler forms”\u2019 (late 14c.) as a method of problem-solving comes the sense of \u2018a solving\u2019 (as of mathematical problems), which is recorded by 1540s, as is that of \u2018power of holding firmly, character of acting with a fixed purpose\u2019 (compare resolute<\/strong><\/a> (adj.)).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The meaning \u2018steadfastness of purpose\u2019 is by 1580s. The meaning \u2018effect of an optical instrument in rendering component parts of objects distinguishable\u2019 is by 1860. In Middle English it also could mean \u2018a paraphrase\u2019 (as a breaking up and rearranging of a text or translation). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In mid-15c. it also meant \u2018frame of mind,\u2019 often implying a pious or moral determination. By 1580s as \u2018a statement upon some matter;\u2019 hence \u2018formal decision or expression of a meeting or assembly,\u2019 c. 1600. The New Year’s resolution<\/em><\/strong> 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\u201d (https:\/\/www.etymonline.com\/search?q=resolution<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I have never heard it used in the sense of \u201ca paraphrase,\u201d though I have heard reduce<\/em> used in a similar manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you Google \u201cNew Year\u2019s resolution,\u201d you will find a bunch of hits advising you about resolutions you should try in 2026. One website offers 65 \u201cachievable\u201d resolutions. Another offers the 101 \u201cBest\u201d resolutions. One offers 26 \u201crealistic\u201d resolutions. One hit proclaims, \u201c18 ideas for New Year’s resolutions (and how to stick to them).\u201d I\u2019m guessing that if you\u2019re providing advice about how to \u201cstick to them,\u201d you don\u2019t have room for as many. But for most people, creating one resolution to follow is too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cMost people set New Year\u2019s 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)\u201d (https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/psychology-insights-for-a-new-world\/202512\/the-hidden-forces-behind-new-years-resolutions<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cSuperficial explanations in the popular media often attribute the failure of New Year\u2019s resolutions to the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Overly ambitious, unrealistic, or poorly defined goals<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                 Insufficient clarity, specificity, planning, or resources<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                 Unsustained motivation that fades over time<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      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\u201d (ibid.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      But Sebastian Salicru suggests, in Psychology Today, that the problem is not those surfacy symptoms but in maladaptive schemas: \u201cMaladaptive 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cSome 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cBecause 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\u201d (ibid.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So now you know why I don\u2019t make New Year\u2019s resolutions. How can I fight those maladaptive schemas?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      But I will make one resolution: I will stop reading articles from Psychology Today<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Today\u2019s image is from Take Flight Learning (https:\/\/takeflightlearning.com\/set-new-years-resolutions-that-match-your-personality\/<\/a>) and accurately portrays my list of New Year\u2019s resolutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Today\u2019s word of the day is resolution. Pronounced \/ \u02ccr\u025bz \u0259\u02c8lu \u0283\u0259n \/ (there could be, I suppose, be a word pronounced \/\u2019ri s\u0259 \u2018lu \u0283\u0259n \/, which would be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-word-of-the-day","clearfix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7221"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7223,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7221\/revisions\/7223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.freedomshillprimer.com\/institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}