The Most Common New Year’s Resolutions Of 2024

Some of the most common resolutions that people have made this New Year's, including improving their health, career and relationship.

Most people look at the emerging new year as so much more than just a number on the calendar. To a lot of us, the new year symbolizes a fresh start. An opportunity to make some choices, hoping to improve themselves and their lives moving forward. Forbes ran a poll, asking people what their New Year's resolutions were as we enter the year 2024.If you look at the poll results, you will notice that most of the responses fall under three categories: health, career and relationships.

There are a lot of resolutions that will fall under the health category. In fact, most of the poll responses can be considered an improvement to your health, both mental and physical.

The number 1 overall response (48% of respondents) said that improving their fitness will be their focus in the new year. That's not exactly a shock. It is well known that gym attendance is never higher than it is during the month of January, much to the chagrin of those who make the gym a regular part of their routine throughout the year. Nevertheless, nearly half of us will be making an effort to exercise more this year.

Improving mental health was the third most common response, accounting for 36% of the poll responses. As society continues to overcome some of the stigma attached to mental health, it has become an easier topic to discuss publicly and without shame. This progress has made it possible for the subject to move up the list of common resolutions. In fact, the desire to improve your mental health lead to 5% of poll participants stating that their New Year's resolution this year is to meditate regularly.

Other health related resolutions include things like improving your diet (32%), quitting smoking (12%) and drinking less alcohol(3%). One thing is for sure, decisions to help improve your mind and body are never a bad thing and make for an idea resolution for the new year.

We have already covered the #1 (improve fitness) and #3 (improve mental health) responses to the New Year's resolution poll. As for the second place response, 38% of respondents plan to improve their finances this year. The first step to accomplishing this goal can be as simple as establishing a budget, or sorting through expenses to find places to cut back - such as cancelling an unused streaming service or switching to some generic brand products. You could also help to improve finances by making efforts in the workplace to advance your career.

All of that being said, you can also pour yourself too much into your work, not leaving yourself enough time or energy for your personal life. That's why 7% of respondents resolve to improve their work-life balance. To that point, 7% of people also want to make more time for their hobbies and 9% want to learn a new skill this year, which could be a hobby or perhaps a skill to apply towards your career.

As social beings, relationships are critically important to our health and well-being. That may mean dating more or less this year, if you're still in that world. most important, though, it means to nurture your existing relationships. Whether that's your significant other, family or friends. Even though there is only one response on the New Year's resolutions poll that falls under this category, at least 25% of the respondents want to make more time for loved ones this year. That number represents one-quarter of the population that believe their relationships are worth a little extra focus this year.

Making the decision to better yourself is never a poor choice. What is important to keep in mind is setting realistic goals for yourself. If you want to lose weight, quit smoking and drink less alcohol, tackling all of these goals at once may be setting yourself up for failure. Nothing has to chance overnight. Pick one goal, work on that and then move on to the next. Just stick with it and don't be too hard on yourself if you stumble. We're all human, none of us are perfect. If you're trying to exercise more and have bad week where you skip the gym, don't throw in the towel on your efforts. Forgive yourself and get back in there. Whatever you're doing this year to improve your life, we wish you the best of luck!

Check out more details on Forbes' New Year's resolutions poll here!
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2004 was a fantastic year for films across all genres. The ten highest-grossing films in the world that year include Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Spider-Man 2, The Incredibles, The Passion of the Christ, The Day After Tomorrow, Meet the Fockers, Troy, Shark Tale, and Ocean's Twelve. Though the majority of the films selected below didn't make the top ten world box office, we included hits that are either long-forgotten or classic gems.

In 2004, there were a lot of films in the romantic genre that have set a precedent in its category. The Notebook, 13 Going on 30, and 50 First Dates all premiered this year. The early 2000s would be nothing without apocalyptic movies about the future, with films like The Day After Tomorrow and I, Robot. Family-fun films also were in abundance in 2004, with The Polar Express, Napoleon Dynamite, National Treasure, and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

Wes Anderson, Hayao Miyazaki, Peter Segal, Sam Raimi, and Steven Soderbergh all had amazing offerings this year. Anderson released his fourth film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Hayao Miyazaki's seventh Studio Ghibli film, Howl's Moving Castle, remains one of our top three films of all time by the director. Segal directed the Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler romantic comedy 50 First Dates this year, with another Sandler film the year before: Anger Management. Meanwhile, Sam Raimi made his last good Spider-Man film with the sequel. Soderbergh's Ocean's Twelve wasn't nearly as awesome as the first installment, but we found ourselves thoroughly entertained when the heist flick came out twenty years ago. No matter what type of movie is your go-to, 2004 has a movie out there for every walk of life that we find ourselves going back to today.

Take a look below at our top eight picks of the best movies that came out in 2004:

This movie taught us how to do Michael Jackson's "Thriller" dance! We fell in love with Mark Ruffalo with his role in the film as Garner's long-lost love interest, and it is just one of those feel-good movies that'll get a couple tears out of you with every re-watch.

Christian Bale stars as our beloved wizard, Howl. The actor agreed to play any role in the Miyazaki film after watching 2001's Spirited Away. During the recording, Bale was preparing for his role as Batman in 2005's Batman Begins.

We couldn't tell you how many times we watched this hilarious film starring the Wayans Brothers, but when we can recite almost the entire movie, it has to be a lot of times. You either hate or love this movie, but Terry Crews reciting Vanessa Carlton's "1000 Miles" has got to be one of many pop culture moments captured in the film. He even did that scene in just one take!

Bill Murray stars as the titular character, Steve Zissou, who is based on real-life underwater filmmaker, Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Murray was so invested in his role, he became a certified diver, logging over forty hours during filming. Life Aquatic remains one of our top three favorite Wes Anderson films of all time.

Though this movie is beautiful, funny, and heart-wrenching, it is one that you watch just once. Seeing Jim Carrey in a serious role alongside Kate Winslet was a perfect match. The film explores the idea of someone erasing you completely from their memories.

Nicolas Cage became our national treasure after this action-adventure flick came out. Watching this movie as a kid filled us with wonder about our country, with Cage stealing the Declaration of Independence. Cage is a self-proclaimed history buff and acquired a 70-million-year-old dinosaur skull in an auction that cost him $276,000. The artifact turned out to be stolen in 2015 and had to return it to the Mongolian government.

Upon our first watch of 50 First Dates, we had no idea how much it would tug on our heartstrings and make us cry every time we'd hear "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys. Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler gave The Notebook a run for its money this year, and we'd have to pick this film over the Nicholas Sparks story.

After Spider-Man 2, Sam Raimi dropped the ball with the third installment. However, we got much enjoyment out of this sequel which sees Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man face off between a new villain, Doc Ock, played by Alfred Molina.