Saving money, exercising more, and getting healthier are Americans’ top New Year’s resolutions heading into 2026, according to a new survey.
The poll of 2,000 Americans revealed that ten percent of respondents felt very good about 2025, labeling it “a great year”. Some of the remainder are seeking to turn things around in 2026, with 38% setting personal goals or resolutions.
Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Talkspace, the study found that people are creating six resolutions, on average, for the new year, with the most common ones being putting more money into savings (45%), getting more exercise (45%) and improving overall physical health (41%).
Along with those, respondents said they want to eat healthier (40%), improve their holistic financial wellness (34%), spend more time outdoors (29%) and boost their mental health (29%).
Men are more likely than women to set goals for the coming year (44% vs. 35%), with millennials being the most likely to create New Year’s intentions (57%).
But with goals come hurdles to complete them. Younger Americans said that not having enough money is their biggest barrier to accomplishing their goals, while 37% of baby boomers cited not having enough willpower.
Respondents also said mental health challenges (28%) and lack of time (22%) sometimes hold them back from accomplishing their resolutions.
Responses to these challenges differ by generation. When confronted with failure while pursuing a goal, Gen Z most commonly responds by criticizing themselves or feeling guilty (36%), while millennials (42%), Gen X (48%) and baby boomers (55%) all accept failure as part of the process and keep moving forward.
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“Setting meaningful personal goals is a positive step for mental well-being and growth, but it is equally important that we go easy on ourselves if we don’t achieve them right away,” said Dr. Nikole Benders-Hadi, chief medical officer at Talkspace.
“Remember that there can be growth in trying to achieve goals, even if you don’t always achieve exactly what you set out to, or the outcome doesn’t look or feel like what you expected.”
Looking ahead, half of the people polled were optimistic, saying 2026 will be ‘their year’.
Already, Americans rated their mental health as a 7 out of 10, on average, with men scoring above average at 8/10.
To maintain their mental well-being, Gen Z cited time with family and sleep (both 36%) as their most essential habits, while millennials opt for listening to music and podcasts (43%) and just under 50% of Gen X and baby boomers prefer regular walks.
Nearly four in ten said they have a unique personal hack they use to improve their mood, including treasure hunts, lifting weights to rock music, and skateboarding.
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One person said they like listening to their favorite music and “dancing like nobody’s watching”.
Mood boosting hacks can be as simple as binge watching TV while cross-stitching or having a nail day with her daughter.
One respondent shared that her simple hack was crying. “Sometimes you just gotta make yourself cry.” While another said, “I love encouraging others. It takes my mind off any issues I have, and in many cases, I get the pleasant surprise of returned encouragement.”
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