What
matters
most to you?
A 10-minute values clarification exercise adapted from ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy). You'll narrow 91 common values down to your core 5 — then write what each one means to you. The result is a one-page personal values statement you can print or save.
Values are chosen qualities of action — directions you move in, not destinations you arrive at. — ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy)
Values aren't goals. Goals get finished. Values are the qualities you want to show up with — at work, at home, in hard conversations, in the small decisions nobody sees. Naming them out loud makes them harder to ignore.
Go with your gut.
Go with the first pull you feel toward one word over the other — that instinct is the signal. There's no wrong answer here; when two feel close, that's worth noticing too. Pick one and move on, or, when both genuinely matter, spend a Pick Both token — you get a few per round.
Not sure what a word means? Tap the ? on either card for a quick definition.
A private reflection exercise — not therapy or diagnosis. Your answers stay on this device. If it stirs up something heavy, that's worth bringing to someone you trust or your care provider — and in a crisis you can call or text 988 (Canada & U.S., 24/7).
91 values, head to head.
The heart of this is the duel: two values at a time, keep the one that pulls harder, until five are left. That's the whole experience.
Short on time? Tap the few that already feel like yours to shortlist first — entirely optional.
The Opening Field
Pick the value that matters more to you
Use ← → to pick · Space×2 for pick both · ? for definition · U to undo
Pick your top five values
These values survived. Now pick the five that matter most. Click again to deselect — they'll be ranked in the order you choose.
This was a quick gut-check, not a precise ranking. If a value you care about isn't here — an unlucky early pairing can drop one — add it back below.
Write what each value means to you
In your own words. Not a dictionary definition — what this value looks like when you're actually living it.
- What does it look like when I'm living this?
- Who am I being when I honor this value?
- When have I felt most like myself living it?
Turn one value into a move
A value isn't a finish line — it's a direction you keep choosing. You head toward it through small, repeatable actions. Pick one value and name one step you can take this week.
These are your
directions.
Ranked in the order you picked them. Notice which ones surprised you — and which you'd like to make a little more room for.
Also made the final cut
Which of these are you already living by, and which have been on the back burner? If one value became ten percent more present in your week, which would change the most?
Pay attention to what you pay attention to.
Sit with these, print them, or bring them to your next appointment. If anything here feels heavy, you don't have to hold it alone — reach out to someone you trust, or call or text 988.