Welcome to another edition of Weekend Wellness, where I share information on four of my favorite F-words – finance, fitness, food & fun – feature some great posts from around the web and share a new recipe. Today I’m discussing my four words and a couple more, that combined are believed to make up the elements essential for wellness / wellbeing.

Many of our overall feelings of wellness derive from what we do in life, who we are involved with, how our health measures up, and the management of our finances.

In the book, Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements, authors Tom Rath and Jim Hartner of the Gallup Organization teamed up to summarize what they found contributes most to people’s wellbeing over a lifetime.

Elements Essential for Wellness

The five elements in Rath and Hartner’s book are listed in the order of importance based on the average of the people surveyed. While on average Career Wellbeing was slightly higher than Physical Wellbeing or Community Wellbeing, each of the five elements is an influential factor in overall wellness. This order may not be the same for you or me.

Related Post: How To Be Happy? Do These 3,677 Things And It’s Yours!

Career Wellbeing – Those with high Career Wellbeing look forward to waking up and doing something every day.  They are provided with opportunities to use their strengths and work within their interests. They’ve found a deep purpose in life and with definitive plans to obtain their goals.  Many have a leader who motivates them and coworkers or friends who share their passion.  They enjoy their work daily.

People with high Career Wellbeing are more likely to thrive in other areas of their lives as well. Perhaps, boosting your own Career Wellbeing is something to consider if you lack in this area.

Social Wellbeing – Those with high Social Wellbeing have many close relationships helping them enjoy life and be healthy. They surround themselves with others who are encouraging, accepting, and respectful.

They deliberately take time for vacations and invest time attending social gatherings with their friends and family, strengthening these relationships. Much love is experienced in their lives providing them with positive energy on a daily basis.

Financial Wellbeing – Financial Wellbeing is more about effectively managing your economic life than the actual amount of money you have. People with high Financial Wellbeing manage their finances well and spend their money wisely.

They buy experiences instead of just material possessions, and they give to others instead of always spending on themselves. At a basic level, they are satisfied with their overall standard of living and feel secure with their finances.

Physical Wellbeing – Short-term choices we make can have long-term effects on our overall physical wellness. Practicing healthy habits and making good lifestyle choices, gives us more energy, helps us look and feel better, leading to a longer life.

People with a high Physical Wellbeing maintain their health with regular exercise, they develop the best lifelong diet for them, and they get adequate sleep.

Their healthy lifestyle allows them the ability to do things people their age normally do. They wake up well rested each day, look better, feel better, and have good energy.

Community Wellbeing –  Community Wellbeing is about the sense of engagement you have with where you live and work. People with high Community Wellbeing feel safe and secure and take pride in their community.  They often give back to the areas where they live.

More than 23,000 people surveyed said that they get an emotional boost for doing kind things for other people. These positive outcomes of high Community Wellbeing may be what determines a good life or a great one.

What do you think? Do you find these five elements essential for wellness? Are you in agreement with their order? What might be different for you?

Featuring

Articles I enjoyed this week:

Liz, from Chief Mom Officer, reminds us that Money Is Genderless and that women can take advantage of this – and take charge of their own future.

The Teacher Investor is not real happy work’s frowned upon by so many. According to the book I mentioned today, maybe he’s on to something. Check out his Work, huh, yeah \ What is it good for \ Absolutely nothin’ post and let me know what you think.

Mr. Fire Station is traveling quite a bit lately. It seems he likes his permanent vacation from work – FIRE Travel – Chicago, City of Big Shoulders and FIRE Travel – Edinburgh, Royal Scotland.

Why You Can’t Trust How You See Yourself, written by K.L. Greenwalt, a woman sharing her story as she develops her faith. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Be well,

Amy

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Crockpot Baked Apples

4 servings

Ingredients

4 Medium or Large apples cored approximately three-quarters of the way leaving 1/2 inch at the bottom

1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (or combination of both)

1 Tbsp melted Coconut Oil

1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Combine apple cider vinegar, water, and half of the maple syrup in a small bowl and then pour into crockpot.

Reusing the same bowl combine the chopped nuts, coconut oil, cinnamon, and the rest of the maple syrup. Stir well then fill the apples with the mixture. Any remaining mixture can be set aside to top the apples after cooking.

Place apples in the crockpot and cook on high for two hours or until apples are soft.

These may also be made in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 50 minutes. Place apples in a foil-lined pan for easy clean-up.

Notes