North Americans Are Bracing for a Difficult Year

—Here’s How to Take Control

If you have been feeling uneasy about what 2026 might bring, you are not alone. According to new Gallup research, North Americans are heading into the new year expecting challenges across nearly every dimension of economic, political, and societal life. Majorities foresee rising unemployment, higher taxes, increasing prices, and growing crime rates. Only one area inspires majority optimism: the stock market.

But here is what the pessimistic predictions do not capture: how you respond to uncertainty matters more than the uncertainty itself. While most people feel powerless watching economic and political forces unfold, a growing number of North Americans are discovering that business ownership offers a way to take control—regardless of what happens in the broader economy.

What North Americans Expect in 2026

Gallup’s December 2025 survey of over 2,000 adults paints a sobering picture. Respondents were asked to predict what 2026 will bring across 13 different dimensions—and the results show widespread concern.

Only 55% believe the stock market will rise—the single area where a majority expressed optimism. At the other extreme, just 10% expect 2026 to be a year of political cooperation rather than conflict. Clear majorities expect economic difficulties, international discord, rising unemployment, higher taxes, higher prices, and a decline in American power worldwide (Gallup, January 2026).

These predictions are considerably more negative than last year’s. Double-digit declines occurred in positive predictions for employment, taxes, economic prosperity, and prices. Optimism about the stock market fell by 11 percentage points compared to predictions for 2025.

The message from North Americans is clear: most people do not believe the coming year will make their lives easier. And when you add in concerns about AI automation, ageism, and a divided job market, the anxiety becomes even more understandable.

The Real Question: What Can You Actually Control?

You cannot control inflation. You cannot control whether your company decides to restructure. You cannot control how AI will reshape your industry. But you can control how you position yourself and your career.

This is exactly what a growing number of North Americans are recognizing. According to the TES Generational Career Confidence Survey, conducted by The Entrepreneur’s Source®, four in five employees (80%) say that starting or owning a business would give them more control over their career than a traditional job. Seven in ten North Americans (70%) believe owning a business provides more opportunities—including career stability and financial growth—than traditional jobs in today’s economy.

These are not people ignoring economic reality—they are responding to it. When the traditional employment model feels increasingly unstable—longer job searches, more selective hiring, fewer guarantees—ownership becomes a way to stop depending on forces you cannot influence.

Why Economic Pessimism Can Be a Catalyst for Change

There is an interesting pattern in the TES survey data. Nearly a third of business owners (32%) say a toxic work environment motivated them to start their own business, with Gen Z business owners (44%) reporting this most often. About two in five business owners (41%) say starting their own business improved their confidence—especially Gen X owners (54%).

In other words, difficult circumstances often serve as a catalyst for positive change. The people who started businesses were not necessarily more optimistic about the economy—they were more willing to act despite their concerns.

Consider what the Gallup data reveals about the traditional path. The majority of North Americans expect rising unemployment and economic difficulty. If you are counting on a stable job market to protect your career, these predictions should give you pause. But if you are building something you own—a business with real demand, proven systems, and growth potential—the broader economic picture matters less because you control more of the variables.

What Career Ownership Offers in Uncertain Times

The TES survey found that just over four in five North Americans (83%) think owning a business is a viable alternative to a traditional career. Two-thirds (66%) say business ownership offers more job security than working for someone else. And more than three in five (61%) believe that owning a business is the best way to protect against AI making your career obsolete.

These numbers reflect a fundamental shift in how people view career security. The old model—find a good company, work hard, advance steadily—has been disrupted by layoffs, restructuring, automation, and hiring freezes. The new model recognizes that true security comes from owning your income stream rather than renting it from an employer who can take it away.

Business ownership also offers something the Gallup predictions cannot touch: alignment with sectors that are actually growing. While white-collar job postings have declined significantly, healthcare, skilled trades, home services, and essential service businesses continue to expand. Career Ownership allows you to participate in that growth on your own terms.

How Career Ownership Coaching Helps You Navigate Uncertainty

Making a major career decision during uncertain times can feel overwhelming. That is where a Career Ownership Coach® becomes invaluable.

A Career Ownership Coach® is a guide who helps you clarify your I.L.W.E. goals—your priorities around Income, Lifestyle, Wealth, and Equity. Through Career Ownership Coaching, you explore questions like: How much income do you need? What kind of lifestyle do you want? Are you building assets that appreciate over time? Do you want to create something you can eventually sell or pass on?

This process helps you make decisions based on your unique situation rather than reacting to headlines or predictions. It connects you with proven business models that include training, operational support, and established systems—dramatically improving your chances of success even in challenging economic conditions.

The Choice Ahead

The Gallup data tells us that most North Americans are bracing for a difficult year. Rising prices. Economic uncertainty. Political conflict. Job market challenges. These concerns are real, and they affect everyone.

But the TES survey data tells a different story—one about what happens when people decide to stop waiting for conditions to improve and start building something they control. About a third of North Americans (34%) have already owned a business.

Many of them started during times just as uncertain as this one.

You cannot control what 2026 will bring. But you can control whether you spend another year hoping the economy will cooperate with your career plans—or whether you start building a path that does not depend on economic predictions at all.

The pessimism in the polls is understandable. The question is what you will do about it.

Maybe 2026 will surprise everyone and exceed expectations. Or maybe the pessimism will prove justified. Either way, the people who will thrive are those who stopped waiting for permission and started taking control of their own futures.

Three-quarters of parents (75%) now say it is important for their children to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. They are recognizing what the Gallup data confirms: depending on traditional employment paths in an uncertain economy is increasingly

risky. The skills that matter most—adaptability, problem-solving, financial literacy, and self-reliance—are the same skills that drive successful business ownership.

About Your Career Revolution.

Our mission is to help individuals explore self-sufficiency as an alternative career.

We help them define their Income, Lifestyle, Wealth, and Equity goals and provide education on the best ways to achieve them. We don’t sell franchises – we help people achieve their dreams of self-sufficiency through business ownership. The approach is different, the experience is different. And it works.

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The post Feeling anxious about what 2026 will bring? first appeared on The Entrepreneur’s Source.