New Year’s Day runners from Great Falls Hash House Harriers give the thumbs up or thumb down sign to indicate if they’ve made a New Year’s resolution. Gathered at the home of Mark and Cynthia Revesman near Frying Pan Park, the hashers are set to begin their Annual New Year’s Day Run. Photo by Mercia Hobson
It’s that time again, the start of the New Year. Wipe the proverbial slate clean and make those New Year’s resolutions. Lose weight, get organized, spend less, and enjoy life more. Yet statistics reveal an exceedingly low percentage of people actually achieve their resolutions, with many polls indicating fewer than 10 percent of individuals who make a resolution keep it. What do Oak Hill and Herndon residents think?
On New Year’s Day, at coffee shops, house parties and on the sidewalk, Oak Hill and Herndon residents chimed in whether they had made a resolution or not and provided opinions about the tradition.
Mark Revesman was home in Oak Hill partying with a crowd from Great Falls Hash House Harriers, a local non-competitive running group open to anyone looking to run/walk trails around town, drink beer, have fun and raise money for different charities. The hashers had just finished a morning run near Frying Pan Park. “I’ve never made a resolution,” Revesman said. “It’s not necessary. It’s an old wives’ tale. But what does bother me is when I go the gym tomorrow, it’ll be crowded. Everyone starts off at the beginning of the month, but at the end of the month, they are gone.”
Dr. Joyce Freedman from Reston is a fellow hasher. As far as Freedman was concerned her resolution was to stop paying for her gym membership or use it. “I’ve discussed this before,” Freedman said. “I need to make time to go to the gym, but work is in my way.”
364 other days to start
When asked about her New Year’s resolution, Suzi Mannello said, “I make resolutions every day of my life. A resolution is generally something good or healthy to improve yourself. I am usually pretty good at doing this at my time of need. If I wait for New Year’s, I’m waiting for an excuse to delay. Why not start when I discover it?”
Jerry Mannix, hasher and owner of Mannix Heating and Cooling in Chantilly, held a similar belief as Mannello. “I've never made New Year’s resolution,” he said. “I'm always looking at how to make myself better. I want to change my life and it happens every month.”
At the Herndon Starbucks, barista Mahmoud Huruse worked the morning shift. Huruse echoed the same thought. "I don't need a time constraint to tell me what I need. If I truly feel ready to change, then I will, no matter the time of year.”
“I’ve made resolutions before,” he explained. “And they don’t work.”
Huruse’s co-worker, Katie Perry, does not make resolutions either. She acknowledged when a resolution was not of her own making, it failed. “My mom once made a resolution for me. It didn’t last a week. It was pointless because it was not my resolution.”
John Leach was finishing up his coffee at Starbucks as he read a book. When asked if he made a New Year’s resolution Leach said he didn’t anymore. “Resolutions fall apart in 10 days; life gets in the way. I used to make resolutions but I can’t even remember them. Maybe get fit, lose weight, change my eating habits. Life is work and it is all consuming in our lives. Work occupies so much time, there’s no time left for more valuable things.”
Outside Starbucks Rady Ghaly, Joseph Califa, and Nehal Mankash enjoyed their coffee in the morning sun. When asked about their New Year’s resolutions it was evident their intentions to implement prior or new resolutions were good, but success difficult. “I’d like to implement a resolution I had the year before and the year before that,” Ghaly said. “But it takes great power to change.”
Califa agreed. “I made a resolution. It was not to smoke. But I’ve broken it already and it’s not even noon. I broke it because people around me are a bad influence.” Califa paused and continued, “But I will try not to smoke every day. I’ve never had a need to have a resolution before, but this year I have a health problem. I have to reduce the amount of smoking.”
Navel Mankash acknowledged, “I have no resolution this year, well not yet.” He thought a moment and added: “Maybe to get married. But I have no steps to get there though.”
Create Small Steps
Back at the runner’s party more muddy gym shoes covered the front steps. Lori Ruderman stood in her friends’ home. When asked if she made a New Year’s resolution she laughed and said, “It’s against my religion. Why set a goal I will not do?” In a more serious tone Ruderman added: “I did set a goal though about 5 months ago. I was worried about my health. I had high blood pressure and didn’t want to die young. I took small steps. I educated myself. I learned and I lost 50 pounds.”
Mannello reinforced a similar course of action for change - to plan the program, start small and take measured steps. “Start with something small,” she said. “Or it won’t work out.”
Mannix came out in the hallway at the runners’ party. When asked how he made changes in his life since he doesn’t make New Year’s resolutions, Mannix summed up his goal setting strategy, “ I don’t set myself up for failure and I don’t blame others for failure, whether in business or in school. That’s too easy. I ask how can I do better and I look at myself first, not at others. Improvement is a constant- every day change.”