Coaching practices for Stated vs Enacted Values

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Stated vs Enacted Values, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

  • I’m not sure my stated values are real or just the ones I think I should have
  • I say I value family, or health, or creativity
  • I’ve done all the clarifying and ranking and I have this lovely list of values
  • I want to pin down the few things I most want to have stood for when I look back at my whole life
  • I know what matters to me in the abstract, but it stays a nice idea

Practices that may help

  1. Excavate your actual values from your history
    Use past choices and sacrifices — not aspirations — to find what you actually value.
    Life Review and Reminiscence Therapy
  2. Values clarification through lived evidence
    Infer your actual values from your past behaviour, not from what you wish you valued.
    Svadhyaya: Self-Study as a Daily Practice
  3. Values-Based Action (ACT), Made Practical
    Values-based action in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) means choosing behaviors that are consistent with what matters most to you — your values — rather than behaviors driven by avoidance of pain or approval-seeking. ACT distinguishes values (directions, ongoing) from goals (destinations, finishable); the emphasis is on the quality of action in the present rather than outcome attainment. ACT has robust meta-analytic support; values-based action is identified as a core mechanism.
  4. Take value-consistent committed action
    Translate each value into one concrete behavior you can do this week.
    Values Clarification, Made Practical
  5. Write a values declaration as the core of your legacy letter
    Name the two to four values you most want to have lived by — then write why they matter to you.
    The Legacy Letter: Writing What You Want to Leave Behind
  6. Committed action: making specific, values-linked behavioral commitments
    Translate a value into a specific, observable action you commit to this week.
    Values-Based Action (ACT), Made Practical
  7. Values clarification: what matters most to you?
    Identify 3–5 core values — not what you should value, but what actually matters when life is stripped back.
    Values-Based Action (ACT), Made Practical
  8. The values–behavior gap check
    Audit the last week: which of your top values did your actual decisions honor?
    Values Card Sort
  9. Make core values operational, not decorative
    Use core values in hiring, recognition, and decision-making — not just on the website.
    The Rockefeller Habits: Scaling Up with Rhythm and Focus
  10. Rank your top values
    Force a strict order among your finalists so conflicts resolve in advance.
    Values Clarification, Made Practical

Related concerns

Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.

Practice this with IX Coach

Try this practice