Coaching practices for Values Based Action Act with Friends

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Values Based Action Act with Friends, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

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

  • I know what matters to me in the abstract, but it stays a nice idea
  • If someone asked me what I actually care about, I’m not sure I could answer honestly
  • I’ve named my top values, but looking back at the actual decisions I made this week, I’m not sure my behavior honored a single one of them
  • I’m still doing all the things I committed to, but somewhere along the way they stopped meaning anything
  • Every time I go to do the thing that matters to me, this wall of thoughts shows up

Practices that may help

  1. 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.
  2. 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
  3. Committed Action, Made Practical
    Committed action — a core ACT process developed by Steven Hayes — means taking concrete, repeated steps toward what you value even while discomfort is present, rather than waiting for the feeling of readiness. It is the behavioral spine of ACT, which has substantial randomized-trial support across anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and other conditions.
  4. Values Bullseye, Made Practical
    The values bullseye, developed by Tobias Lundgren within the ACT framework, is a visual exercise in which you rate how close your current behavior is to the bullseye in four life domains — work, relationships, personal growth, and leisure. It converts abstract values into a concrete gap-analysis, making it easier to choose one committed action that moves you toward the center. The exercise is part of the established ACT toolkit; direct evidence for the instrument is limited but the underlying ACT framework has substantial support.
  5. 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
  6. The values–behavior gap check
    Audit the last week: which of your top values did your actual decisions honor?
    Values Card Sort
  7. Close the loop: check values-alignment after acting
    After a committed action, briefly confirm it expressed the value — or revise what you do next time.
    Committed Action, Made Practical
  8. Defuse from thoughts that block values-based action
    Identify the specific thoughts that stop you from acting on your values, and apply defusion rather than argument.
    Values-Based Action (ACT), Made Practical
  9. Stick to Values: act consistently with what actually matters to you
    Before compromising a position, check whether the compromise conflicts with a core value — and hold if it does.
    FAST: DBT’s Skill for Maintaining Self-Respect in Relationships
  10. Turn the chosen domain into a committed action
    Convert the domain insight into a concrete, timed, values-linked behavior — not a vague intention.
    Values Bullseye, 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