Values clarification — identifying what matters most to you at the deepest level — is a cornerstone of ACT therapy for friends and provides direction when friends removes other navigational tools.
Why Values Matter for Friends
Friends often disconnects us from our values through avoidance, withdrawal, and reduced capacity. Reconnecting with values provides:
- Direction when friends has eliminated other motivation
- Meaning that persists even through difficult friends periods
- A basis for action independent of how friends makes you feel
Clarifying Your Values with Friends
Ask yourself: 'If my friends were less present, what would I be doing more of? What kind of person would I be?'
Values are not goals (achievable and done) but ongoing directions: being a present parent, creating beauty, contributing to others.
Values-Based Action in Friends
ACT therapy teaches: act according to values even when friends is present. Small values-aligned actions, despite friends, are more sustainable than waiting for friends to lift first.