Free Self-Assessment

ACT Values Assessment

Values work is the heart of ACT. Think of this as a quick ACT values quiz: in about ten minutes, sort 63 common values, choose the five that matter most, and see how closely your daily actions line up with them.

Quick check-in · 10 minFull workbook · 30 min
Loading the assessment…
The Clinical Background

Understanding Your Values Assessment

What are ACT values?

In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), values are chosen life directions, the qualities you want to embody in how you treat yourself, other people, and the world. They aren't feelings, and they aren't rules. Compassion, honesty, growth, connection: these are ways of being you can act on in any moment, regardless of how you feel.

Values clarification is one of the six core processes of the ACT model, alongside acceptance, cognitive defusion, present-moment awareness, self-as-context, and committed action. Research across hundreds of randomized controlled trials suggests that people who can name their values, and act on them even when it's uncomfortable, show greater psychological flexibility, which is ACT's central mechanism of change.

How are values different from goals?

A goal can be completed; a value never can. "Get promoted" is a goal. Once it happens, it's done. "Challenge" or "mastery" is a value, a direction you keep moving in for as long as you choose. Goals are destinations; values are the compass heading.

This distinction matters clinically. High-achieving people are often excellent at goals and disconnected from values. You can hit every milestone (the degree, the title, the salary) and still feel hollow, because milestones were never the point. When clients tell me "I have everything I wanted and I don't know why I'm miserable," values work is usually where we start.

What does the gap between importance and action mean?

The assessment above asks you to rate each of your top five values twice: how much it matters to you, and how consistently you've actually lived it over the past week. The difference between those two numbers is your values–action gap.

A large gap is not a verdict on your character. It's information. Gaps usually point to avoidance, the places where anxiety, busyness, or old habits have quietly steered your behavior away from what matters. In ACT terms, the gap shows you where psychological inflexibility is costing you the most, and therefore where committed action will pay off the most.

What should I do when my actions don't align with my values?

Start small and start specific. Pick the value with the largest gap and ask: what is one concrete thing I could do this week that someone watching could see? If connection scored a gap of six, that might be a fifteen-minute phone call, not a personality overhaul. In ACT this is called committed action: small, workable steps in a valued direction, taken with the discomfort rather than after it goes away.

If the same gaps keep showing up no matter what you try, or if looking at them stirred up more than you expected, that's often a sign the obstacle isn't a scheduling problem but an internal one: anxiety, intrusive thoughts, burnout, or grief that deserves real attention. That's the work ACT therapy is built for.

Is this assessment a diagnostic tool?

No. This is an educational self-reflection exercise based on common values used in ACT clinical practice, not a validated psychometric instrument, and it doesn't diagnose or treat any condition. If you're struggling, a conversation with a licensed clinician is the right next step. You can reach me through the contact page for a free 15-minute intro call.

One honest note to close on. If the same gaps keep coming back no matter what you try, the obstacle usually isn't a scheduling problem. Anxiety, intrusive thoughts, old trauma, or a relationship stuck in the same fight will quietly steer your behavior away from your values, and that is the part of this work I actually treat. If you recognize yourself in any of those, you can read how I work with anxiety and OCD, trauma, or couples.

Written by Dr. Olivier van Hauwermeiren, PsyD. Licensed Clinical Psychologist, ACT & CBT

The Full List

Examples of ACT Values

These are the 63 values you sort in the exercise above, drawn from the lists commonly used in ACT clinical practice. None of them is more "correct" than another. The point is to notice which few pull at you most strongly. Read them as examples if you are building your own values list, or as a primer before you take the assessment.

Acceptance
To be open to and accepting of myself, others, and life.
Adventure
To actively seek, create, or explore novel or stimulating experiences.
Assertiveness
To respectfully stand up for my rights and request what I want.
Authenticity
To be genuine, real, and true to myself.
Autonomy
To be self-determined and independent.
Beauty
To appreciate, create, or cultivate beauty in myself or the environment.
Caring
To take care of and be helpful toward others.
Challenge
To take on difficult tasks and keep growing.
Compassion
To act with kindness toward those who are suffering.
Connection
To engage fully and be fully present with others.
Contribution
To help, assist, or make a positive difference to others.
Cooperation
To be collaborative and work well with others.
Courage
To persist in the face of fear, threat, or difficulty.
Creativity
To be innovative and have new or original ideas.
Curiosity
To be open-minded and interested; to explore and discover.
Dependability
To be reliable and trustworthy.
Equality
To treat others as equal to myself.
Excitement
To seek activities that are stimulating or thrilling.
Fairness
To be fair and just to myself and others.
Fitness
To maintain or improve my physical and mental health.
Flexibility
To adjust and adapt readily to changing circumstances.
Forgiveness
To let go of anger or resentment toward myself or others.
Freedom
To choose how I live and behave.
Friendship
To have close, supportive friends.
Fun
To play, be fun-loving, and seek enjoyment.
Generosity
To share and give to myself or others.
Gratitude
To be appreciative of the positive aspects of myself, others, and life.
Growth
To keep changing, developing, and improving.
Honesty
To be truthful and sincere.
Humility
To be modest and let my achievements speak for themselves.
Humor
To see and appreciate the humorous side of life.
Industry
To work hard and well at my life tasks.
Independence
To be free from dependence on others.
Inner Peace
To experience personal and spiritual tranquility.
Intimacy
To share my innermost experiences with others.
Justice
To promote fair and equal treatment for all.
Kindness
To be considerate, nurturing, and caring toward myself and others.
Knowledge
To learn and contribute valuable information.
Leisure
To take time to relax and enjoy life.
Loving
To give love and affection to others.
Mastery
To be highly competent in my everyday activities.
Mindfulness
To live conscious and mindful of the present moment.
Openness
To be receptive to new experiences, ideas, and options.
Order
To have a life that is well-ordered and organized.
Passion
To have deep feelings about ideas, activities, or people.
Patience
To wait calmly for what I want, without rushing myself or others.
Persistence
To keep going, even when things are hard.
Purpose
To have meaning and direction in my life.
Rationality
To be guided by reason and logic.
Respect
To treat myself and others with care and consideration.
Responsibility
To make and carry out responsible decisions.
Romance
To have intense, exciting love in my life.
Safety
To secure and protect my own safety and the safety of others.
Self-Acceptance
To accept myself completely as I am.
Self-Awareness
To notice and understand my own thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Self-Care
To look after my health and wellbeing, and get my needs met.
Sensuality
To create or enjoy experiences that delight the senses.
Sexuality
To explore and express my sexuality.
Simplicity
To live life simply, with minimal needs.
Skillfulness
To keep practicing and improving the things I do.
Spirituality
To connect with something bigger than myself.
Supportiveness
To be encouraging, helpful, and available to others.
Trust
To be loyal, faithful, sincere, and reliable.

Want to go deeper on how to choose and act on these? Read ACT values: examples, exercises, and how to use them.