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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 only a small group (10%) felt very good about 2025 as a whole, labeling it a “great” year, and most felt less positive about it, saying it was “just okay” (39%), ”bad” (19%), or even” awful” (10%).
So to turn things around in the coming year, many (38%) are setting personal goals or resolutions, with millennials being the most likely to create New Year’s intentions (57%) and baby boomers being the least likely (23%).
Men are also more likely than women to set goals for 2026 (44% vs. 35%), and they also feel more motivated to complete them (93% vs. 85%).
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%).
But with goals come hurdles to complete them, and Gen Z (45%), millennials (49%), and Gen X (45%) all said that not having enough money is their biggest barrier in general to accomplishing their goals, while baby boomers cited not having enough willpower (37%).
Respondents also said mental health challenges (28%) and lack of time (22%) often hold them back from accomplishing their resolutions.
Responses to these challenges and barriers 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.
“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 (49%) said 2026 will be their year and the season when they finally get to a better place mentally.
And in general, Americans rated their mental health a 7/10, on average, with men scoring just a bit above average at 8/10.
A little over half of people (54%) said they’re open about their mental health with their loved ones, with millennials (63%) and men (59%) being the most transparent, and feeling the most comfortable sharing on this topic.
To maintain their mental well-being, many respondents have habits they rely on, although preferences differ by age.
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 Gen X (42%) and baby boomers (46%) both prefer regular walks.
Thirty-eight percent also have a unique personal hack they use to improve their mood. Sharing some of the most fun, useful, and interesting hacks, respondents said they like to boost their moods by treasure hunting, lifting weights to rock music, and skateboarding.
One person said they like “listening to my favorite music and dancing like nobody’s watching,” while another simply enjoys “listening to Tyler, The Creator interviews” to relax.
According to the results, mood boosting hacks can be as simple as “binge watching TV while cross-stitching” or “having a nail day with my daughter.”
One respondent even said, “Crying. Sometimes you just gotta make yourself cry.” While another shared, “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.”
Research methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans who have access to the internet; the survey was commissioned by Talkspace and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Nov. 5 and Nov. 10, 2025. A link to the questionnaire can be found here.
