Well being: The Five Essential Elements [Hardcover]

This is Tom Rath's latest book, co-authored with Jim Harter whose previous book, 12: The Elements of Great Managing, Harter co-authored with Rodd Wagner. Rath explains that in addition to their own research for this book, he and Harter consulted an abundance of research conducted by the Gallup Organization with which they are associated. Moreover, "Gallup assembled an assessment composed of the best questions asked over the last 50 years. To create this assessment, the Well-Being Finder, we tested hundreds of questions across countries, languages, and vastly different life situations."

For me, some of the most important revelations include those that help to explain how people (in a 150 countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe) experience their days and evaluate their lives overall. More specifically, as Rath and Harter explain, five distinct statistical factors emerged. "These core dimensions are universal elements of well-being, or how we think about and experience our lives - the interconnected elements that differentiate a thriving life from one spent suffering." Although 66% of those surveyed are doing well in one of the five areas, only 7% are thriving in all five. "These five factors are the currency of a life that is worthwhile. They describe demands of life that we can all [begin italics] do something about [end italics] and that are important to people in every life situation we studied." Here they are, with my own take on each:

Career Well-Being: To be eager to begin work each day, feel appreciated as a person as well as an employee, respect supervisor, enjoys associates, speak with pride and appreciation about company to others

Social Well-Being: To have several strong relationships, be able toactivate a support system when encountering problems, feel loved

Financial Well-Being: To manage finances prudently, be aware of costs and in control of expenditures, frugal but not cheap

Physical Well-Being: To get sufficient rest as well as rigorous regular exercise, have plenty of energy in reserve, eat sensibly)

Note: In Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, John Ratey explains why there is a direct and decisive correlation between a healthy lively body and a healthy lively brain. Those who have a special interest in this important subject are strongly urged to check out Ratey's book.

Community Well-Being: To be actively and productively engaged in the neighborhood and in the community as well as in various groups within the area such as a church, P.T.A., Crime Watch, Meals on Wheels, homeowners' association, etc.

Rath and Harter have much of value to say about each of these five dimensions of human experience such as their core values, sources of nutrition, strategies for development, threats to well-being, and interdependence with each other. Of even greater value, in my opinion, they suggest what lessons can be learned from responses to Gallup's global surveys during the last 50 years and offer their observations and recommendations in terms of how each reader can improve the quality of life and sense of well-being in each dimension.

They observe, "For many people, spirituality is the thread that connects and drives them in [begin italics] all [end italics] of these areas. Their faith is the single most important element in their lives, and it is the foundation of their daily efforts across each of the five areas. For others, a deep mission, such as protecting the environment, drives them each day. While the things that motivate us differ greatly from one person to the next, the outcomes do not."

Readers will especially appreciate Rath and Harter's provision of a brief summary of the "essentials" at the conclusion of the separate chapter they devote to each of the five elements. They also provide seven appendices in the "Additional Tools and Resources" section and thus enable each reader to complete a number of self-diagnostic exercises within the context they have so carefully formulated throughout the preceding narrative. Appendix A, for example, consists of "The Well-Being Finder: Measuring and Managing Your Well-Being" and Appendix G offers a brief but remarkably comprehensive discussion of "Well-Being Around the World."

Credit Tom Rath and Jim Harter with a brilliant achievement of enduring importance and exceptional significance. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time someone has analyzed hundreds of Gallup's global surveys involving millions of respondents and correlated, indeed integrated what they reveal within a framework that embraces five major dimensions of human experience.

I wholeheartedly agree with them that "one of the best ways to create more good days is by setting positive defaults. Any time you can help your short-term self work with your longer-term aims, it presents an opportunity. You can intentionally choose to spend more time with the people you enjoy most and engage your strengths as much as possible." Once our daily choices are in proper alignment with long-term benefits, our families, our friendships, our workplaces, and our communities will become healthier and thus even more worthwhile. If well-being is the objective, then well-becoming is the opportunity.

This book, Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements, is more than just an amazing read it's also an ongoing process. I'll explain. Tom Rath and Jim Harter, both associated with Gallup, were involved in the design of an assessment - the Wellbeing Finder - that tested hundreds of questions across 150 countries and multiple languages, with populations in vastly different life situations. What emerged from the research were five universal elements of well-being that differentiate individuals who are suffering or thriving in their lives. These elements include career wellbeing, social wellbeing, financial wellbeing, physical wellbeing, and community wellbeing.

The book covers all of these areas, as well as much of the research, and provides a rather straightforward guide to help individuals get more out of life and boost their own wellbeing. More than that, within the book you will be able to find a key that allows you to do an online assessment of all these five areas and compare yourself to a large database of individuals demographically. In addition it is possible to record well-being on a daily basis, on all of these five factors, and get some sense of how sometimes subtle changes in your routine or experience can have a significant affect on your wellbeing.

What I love about this book, and the online assessment tool, is that reading it and actively participating in the process really provides you with some concrete areas to improve. The authors make it clear that many of us are unwilling to make long-term changes in our habits even if we know that maintaining our presence lifestyles will lead to significant long-term consequences. Their understanding that regular evidenced-based feedback and concrete goals and action plans can make a huge difference in whether we just survive or thrive.

This is going to be a very popular book!

I read the Rath and Hartner wellbeing book and I loved it. I teach Positive Psychology at the University level and found it really attractive to have something so authoritative and concise and so user friendly. The relevance of the info and how only useful info was included was also attractive. I read in on the bus and only took less then 1.5 hrs. The ease of reading was a big plus. The 112 pages of core text is impressive because it is so very jam packed with vital/key info, but not in a cluttered way or a way that made the info inaccessible. I know the research and so know what was being said had plenty of empirical support. Yet, the science foundation was strategically downplayed in favor of increased user-friendlyness and accessibility. Lack of references was a plus in regards student buy-in/uptake/readability. So, to summarize, the main thing I liked most was the concise efficiency and effectiveness/persuasiveness of info delivery.

Plus, each sentence was masterfully crafted for maximum communication value in a way that packed a desirable intellectual punch. Bravo to the authors for making an art out of communicating science. Its a really truly a work of art. Rarely is science make to be so very appealing to the popular culture. And not just appealing but useful info too. I liked how it was both an authoritative read but also a friendly read.

In terms of weaknesses, being a psychologist, i felt the major limitation was they left out what I consider to be the 6th Element. It really did come as a surprise that Rath and Hartner overlooked Psychological Wellbeing. I see they compensated for the excessive autistic nature of many Psychological models of Wellbeing. It was a real strength to include coverage of career, social, physical wellbeing. I don't often see financial wellbeing being included and liked the expanded concern with the person's ecology. The chapter on community wellbeing was wonderful, again featuring the contextualized person. But, the thinking, feeling, yearning, experiencing, sensing, and motivated person was missing. A 6th Element to address this would make the next edition of the wellbeing book more appealing to psychologists. Still, its incredibly strong and I will extract some info and place it in my lectures when i teach Positive Psychology in the Fall of 2010, at the University of Windsor (Ontario Canada).s