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Americans Are Hopeful for 2010

With one decade concluding and another on the horizon, Americans are gearing up for 2010 by learning from the past and making plans for a better decade ahead. According to a nationwide survey from OfficeMax Incorporated, a leader in office products and services, Americans have high hopes for the approaching decade with clear plans for their personal lives and heightened focus on family and personal well-being while embracing change and opportunity. When referring to the 2010 decade, nearly four in ten Americans (38%) prefer to use the phrase “the twenty-tens” over other popular terms that include “the oh-tens” (16%), “the tens” (14%) and “the teens” (11%).

Moving forward, Americans predict that family, personal development and self-discovery will define the next 10 years. Many believe they will spend more time with family (64%) and reconnect with old friends (42%). Others plan to nurture themselves by grabbing the reins on their health (62%) and finally creating a work-life balance (38%). Over half (57%) of Americans believe the next decade will be about discovering what’s most important in life, while others think they’ll laugh more than ever before (47%).

Demonstrating the importance of action in 2010, a large number of Americans selected the expressions -- “action speaks louder than words” (73%) and “talk is cheap” (67%) -- to illustrate what they learned over the past decade. Nearly seven in ten people selected “knowledge is power” (69%) and “don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched” (67%) to describe their hopes for smarter, more calculated decisions in the future. With the touch economic times, personal finances were also top-of-mind for most Americans, which is perhaps why phrases like “a penny saved is a penny earned” (66%) and “money makes the world go round” (50%) are what many will use as a springboard for the new decade.

“Everyone has the chance to start fresh in 2010 with a new decade ahead of them, and we’re excited to learn through this national survey that consumers are ready to take the express train to a brighter, more prosperous future,” said Bob Thacker, SVP of marketing & advertising for OfficeMax. “At OfficeMax, we’re kicking off the year by celebrating positive achievements and helping people do their best work at home, the office, or on-the-go. It’s going to be a delightful decade as we focus more on what’s important and improve on the past 10 years.”