Resolve

This blog began in April with a couple of dictionary definitions. Reading definitions more closely at the time it struck me how the subtleties of some words can be lost in their everyday use, especially when they are applied so deliberately in marketing or advertising.

Other people have more dangerous hobbies but I also found it quite rewarding to stumble upon everyday words with more than one relevant meaning to a given situation. In the context of work/life fusion the word resolve is a good example. In one dictionary there were 24 definitions for resolve. Thankfully all 24 won't be listed here because after comparing entries in a few more dictionaries it appears there are three main meanings for resolve. The first is to settle a problem or find a solution. The second is to decide firmly on a course of action. The third, chiefly used in Chemistry, is to separate or reduce something to its component parts.

All three of these meanings have great relevance to career decision making and direction finding the way they are defined by work/life fusion. Initially you resolve to look more closely at your future. As you work on the problem, because it is complex, it helps to resolve it into its component parts. As you make progress you start to resolve the issue, all the while calling upon resolve in the form of persistence to keep you at your task.

Considering all of its meanings resolve is a simple, succinct way to define a large part of the process that work/life fusion deals with and is therefore worth remembering if change is either forced or desired in your future.