Resolve v. Resolute

With the New Year upon us, many people are making resolutions. The most common resolutions are lose weight, drink and eat less, exercise, save money, quit smoking and stop sleeping with friends. I added that last one because I think it should be one of the more common resolutions. Not for me, of course. It’s just that I have a ‘friend’ who….

Since a lot of people are resolute to lose weight and exercise more, the fitness centers are packed the first few weeks of January. I’m glad people make such resolutions because it gives me one more reason to avoid the gym and focus on resolving things. Just so you have a better understanding of what I mean, I’ll provide some definitions courtesy of dictionary.com.

resolve: to come to a definite or earnest decision about; to separate into constituent or elementary parts; to reduce by mental analysis

resolute: firmly resolved or determined; set in purpose or opinion; characterized by firmness and determination, as the temper, spirit, actions, etc

I’ve made some earnest decisions about people and life (some people are disappointing, others are quite sexy and life isn’t fair – which is why some people are disappointing and others are quite sexy); separated some things into constituent parts (my new toothbrushes and dental floss now have their own container); and reduced my weight and debt by mental illness which increased my trendiness (my baggy boyfriend jeans are now skinny jeans – woohoo!).

To resolve instead of to make resolute seems like a better idea to me. Besides, based on the definition of resolute, it involves being firmly resolved. Thus, this year, I encourage you to resolve and evolve!