Values clarification

Name the directions you want your life to move in, distinct from goals you can check off.

Why it works

Values are chosen life directions, not destinations — they give behavior a "why" that survives discomfort. Clarifying them works because a clear value reframes hard action as meaningful rather than merely unpleasant, providing intrinsic motivation that outlasts the fleeting drive of feeling good.

How to do it

1. Pick a life domain (relationships, work, health) and ask who you want to be in it.
2. Distinguish the value (a direction, like "be caring") from a goal (a finish line).
3. Check that it is yours, not an inherited "should."
4. Translate it into how you would act today if you lived by it.

Evidence

Values work is a defining ACT process and overlaps with self-determination research showing intrinsic, autonomous motivation sustains behavior better than external pressure. (observational)

Values clarification is hard to isolate experimentally; its support comes largely from whole-ACT trials and related motivation research.

Common mistake

Confusing values with goals ("get married") instead of directions ("be a loving partner"). Goals can be lost or completed; values keep pointing the way regardless.