An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Values Clarification Exercise
Helping you discover what truly matters — so you can live and act accordingly.
In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), values are defined as your chosen life directions — the kind of person you want to be and the way you want to engage with the world. They are not goals you achieve and tick off a list. They are more like a compass: they guide every step you take, for the rest of your life.
Clarifying what you truly value is one of the most powerful things you can do. Research shows that people who live in alignment with their values experience greater wellbeing, resilience, and life satisfaction — even when facing difficult circumstances.
However, day-to-day pressures, old habits, and the noise of difficult thoughts and feelings can pull us away from our values without us noticing. This exercise helps you reconnect with what actually matters to you, deep down.
How the Exercise Works
This worksheet uses two complementary imagination exercises — a Birthday Party scenario and a Funeral scenario. Both invite you to step into a significant moment in your future and listen to the people who know you best.
The key question in both exercises is not what people do say about you — it is what you would most want them to say. That gap between the ‘is’ and the ‘want’ is where your values live.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. If you would like to book an in-person or Zoom/Teams counselling session with me, you can do so by following this link.
Go well
John Belchamber
Managing Counsellor