We’re coming up to the end of January, which means a lot of people have already started to renege on their New Year’s resolutions. Last year I resolved to take a CPR class and never did. I was thinking about this widespread annual tendency toward failure this morning, and I decided we’ve been going about New Year’s resolutions the wrong way. Year after year, when we use the noun resolution we have in mind the definition ‘a firm decision,’ related to the adjective resolute and the verb to resolve. But resolution and resolve have other nuances of meaning. Among these, the word can also mean ‘the action of solving a problem, dispute, or contentious matter’ (i.e. resolve an issue, find a resolution). I propose, therefore, that rather than making resolutions, we find resolutions in 2018. May we resolve disputes between friends, families and nations as we strive for a more peaceful world. May we resolve moral and financial debts as we seek greater equality between people and countries. May we seek and find a resolution for the ongoing struggle to feed and provide clean water and health services for those in need in Canada and around the world. In a word, may we resolve to resolve.
We can take this one step further. The word resolution also refers to a formal decision or declaration that is produced collaboratively by some sort of assembly or group (i.e. the European Parliament passed a resolution, the Board of Directors proposed twelve resolutions). An obvious problem with traditional New Year’s resolutions is undoubtedly the lack of accountability inherent in goals for self-improvement. Why not make New Year’s resolutions the way a committee makes resolutions? When January rolls around we should assemble committees, in our families, in our neighbourhoods, etc., to draft and adopt a list of formal resolutions. If we base the content of these resolutions on the previous definition of resolution (the action of solving a problem or dispute) we should be able to cooperatively make a real difference each year. A simple act of redefinition can stop us from buying and wasting gym memberships, and force us to use each new year to actively find resolutions.
