It’s the time of year for resolutions, reflections, and expectations.  Are you optimistic, worried, or just neutral?

The polling firm Gallup has new data on how Americans are feeling as we head in to 2013. In short, the answer is mixed. When asked if the next year will be one of prosperity or difficulty, 65 percent of those surveyed see difficulty in their future.

But Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of Gallup, says, “that’s not atypical, the only time we’ve had Americans being ebullient about the next year was in the dot-com boom of the late 1990s and way back in 1965.”

Newport adds that despite the gloomy economic outlook, a little over half of Americans say that 2013 will be a year of full or increasing employment.

To hear how Americans view life in the U.S. compared to other modern industrialized nations, click on the audio player above.