Rate your current position in each domain

Mark on each domain’s bullseye how closely your recent behavior has matched the value — honestly.

Why it works

A gap between stated values and actual behavior creates cognitive dissonance — a motivating tension that generates energy for change when faced honestly rather than suppressed. The visual format makes the gap undeniable without requiring a lecture or confrontation from outside: the person places the mark themselves, which means they are generating the discrepancy, not being told about it — a key self-persuasion mechanism.

How to do it

1. Draw concentric circles for each domain: bullseye = fully living the value, outer ring = barely at all.
2. For each domain, mark where your behavior in the last two weeks has placed you — not your intentions, your actual behavior.
3. Be honest about the outer rings; the exercise only works if the gap is real.
4. Look at all four marks together before drawing conclusions.

Evidence

The bullseye as a discrepancy-visualization tool operationalizes cognitive dissonance (Festinger) and self-assessment research; the Valued Living Questionnaire, related to the bullseye, has been validated and used in ACT research. (observational)

The bullseye is a clinical adaptation; the cited psychometric work is on the VLQ which the bullseye draws from, not on the visual format itself.

Sources

• Wilson et al. (2010), Valued Living Questionnaire, Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science

Common mistake

Marking where you intend to be or where you were at your best, rather than where your typical recent behavior actually sits. The honest mark — however outer — is what makes the exercise useful.