The “Clarify the Life You Choose” worksheet simplifies core concepts of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into an accessible and visually appealing format. It’s a great resource for clinicians to use in sessions but also provides a helpful framework for anyone looking to live a more meaningful life.
For Everyone
Have you ever felt like you’re just going through the motions, reacting to life instead of actively choosing your path? This worksheet is a tool to help you stop and intentionally decide how you want to live your life. It encourages you to think about what truly matters to you and take steps to align your daily actions with your values.
The worksheet is divided into four key areas:
- Let Go: This section helps you identify what you want to do less of to make room for new, more helpful actions.
- Growth: This is about identifying and nurturing actions that help you be the person you want to be.
- Accept: Life can bring challenges and pain, and this section helps you practice accepting difficult feelings so they do not control you.
- Connect: This focuses on strengthening your relationships with the people, places, and activities that bring meaning to your life.
This handout is an invitation to be the author of your own life and consciously choose a path that is guided by your values.
For Clinicians
This handout serves as a powerful, values-based intervention. It’s a structured way to guide clients through the core ACT processes of values clarification and committed action, bridging the gap between values and daily actions.
By working through the four sections, you can help clients:
- Identify Values: The “Growth” and “Connect” sections prompt clients to articulate their personal values by focusing on what they want to increase in their lives.
- Encourage Defusion and Acceptance: The “Let Go” and “Accept” sections provide a framework for discussing unhelpful behaviors and difficult private experiences. It helps clients practice defusion by separating themselves from the difficult thoughts and urges that may arise.
- Promote Self-Efficacy: This worksheet shifts the focus from symptom reduction to building a rich and meaningful life, reinforcing the idea that they have agency over their behavior.
This resource is an excellent starting point for helping clients bridge the gap between their values and their daily actions, leading them toward a more engaged life.