Though the coronavirus pandemic was less of an issue that in the previous two years, 2022 wasn’t exactly the improvement we’d hoped for some 365 days ago.

Inflation, housing woes, interest rates, the prospect of a recession and the war in Ukraine were at the top of the list of concerns that pushed COVID-19 to the back burner. Or at least somewhat more removed from the daily consciousness.

On the cusp of 2023, we may not be as optimistic looking forward as we were in the pandemic-focused immediate past.

That’s not a local issue, though there are varying degrees of optimism/pessimism around the world, as outlined in the latest global predictions from Ipsos, which polled more than 24,000 citizens in 36 countries about the year gone by and the year ahead.

The researchers’ findings? Global citizens are struggling to be optimistic about 2023 as most express concern about the state of the economy, the environment and world security.

Around half of those polled show a significantly more pessimistic view of what next year will bring, with much of that negativity surrounding the economic situation.

Overall, there is much more pessimism about the global economy than Ipsos saw at this time last year. Just 46 per cent on average believe that the global economy will be stronger next year, compared to 61 per cent who did so last year and 54 per cent in 2020. Half think it is likely that major stock markets around the world will crash, for instance, a significant increase from 2022 where 35 per cent thought that would happen.

Optimism about 23 varied significantly around the globe. The inhabitants of the likes of China (83 per cent) and India (81) see 2023 as likely to be an improvement over 2022, while those in places such as France (44 per cent), Germany (52) and the UK (53) were much less inclined to see better days ahead.

In Canada, 61 per cent say they are optimistic that 2023 will be a better year for them than it was in 2022, though just 36 per cent believe the global economy will be stronger.

We can’t know, of course, what 2023 has in store for us. That’s true of what feels like – or should be – a retreating pandemic situation, but more pressingly the staying power of inflationary prices and any recession/downturn that may follow.

We may enter the new year with personal goals and resolutions that, unlike the global issues, are within our own power to control, though even that awaits a future that doesn’t technically start for a few more days.

The coming of a new year is seen as a fresh start and a time for deciding what needs to be changed and where to go next. It’s for these reasons that so many people make New Year’s resolutions to accomplish things such as to exercise more, quit smoking, pay off debt, save more money, complete projects, get organized, further education, lose weight, and the like.

Perhaps there’s an endless optimism that we can change, that we can be better – which, of course, recognizes that we all have something in our lives that we wish to alter. Psychologists tell us this is normal human behaviour, adding that the tough part is actually following through on the impulse for self improvement. In other words, fantasizing about a better you, about an idealized version of you – most of us can actually picture ourselves that way – will remain just that: a fantasy. Unless, that is, we are willing to work hard to make the dream a reality.

As individuals, we’ve been performing this ritual for centuries – for some of us, resolving to do the same thing, such as exercise more, is indeed a yearly ritual, but that’s another story. Still in holiday mode, perhaps, the future is unwritten.