SLA Leah Hunter, MAMFT Brain Library · Guide
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What Are Values?

Values Series · Handout 1

Values are the qualities you want to bring to how you live. Like a compass, they point a direction you can keep walking, even when you can't see the destination.

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What Are Values?, page 1 of the handout as designed
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What Are Values?, page 2

VALUE · a direction · e.g. Connection

(Along the way, three flags: Text a friend back · Try a community group · Plan a visit home)

GOALS are stops along the way. You can finish a goal. You never "finish" a value, you keep living it.

02

Values are…

  • Chosen by you, even if learned from others
  • About how you act, not how you feel
  • Ongoing, never "finished"
  • Flexible on low and high energy days
03

Values are not…

  • Rules or "shoulds" to stay out of trouble
  • Goals to check off and be done with
  • Other people's expectations
  • A test of being a "good" person
04

From value to action

VALUE Creativity → GOAL Finish one zine page this month → TINY ACTION TODAY Doodle for five minutes tonight

05

Five clues to your values

What makes you angry? A value may be getting stepped on.

What lights you up? Feeling most like you shows values in motion.

Who do you admire? We admire people living values we share.

What do you envy? It can point to a value you deny yourself.

Where does your body relax? Ease and relief can signal alignment.

06

Reflect

Short answers, bullet points or doodles all count. There are no right values, and yours can shift across seasons of life.

Think of a time something felt deeply unfair. What mattered to you that was being ignored?
Describe a moment you felt fully like yourself. What were you doing, and who (if anyone) was there?
Name someone you admire, real or fictional. Which of their qualities draw you in?
Which "shoulds" do you carry that don't feel like yours?
If no one would judge you, how would you spend an ordinary Tuesday?
07

Values word bank

Circle any that feel true. Star your top 3 to 5. Write in your own.

Circle any that feel true. Tick all that apply

  • Acceptance
  • Adventure
  • Authenticity
  • Autonomy
  • Beauty
  • Belonging
  • Calm
  • Compassion
  • Connection
  • Contribution
  • Courage
  • Creativity
  • Curiosity
  • Fairness
  • Family
  • Freedom
  • Fun
  • Growth
  • Health
  • Honesty
  • Humor
  • Independence
  • Justice
  • Kindness
  • Learning
  • Loyalty
  • Nature
  • Order
  • Play
  • Rest
  • Safety
  • Simplicity
  • Spirituality
  • Stability
  • Truth
  • Wonder
  • Other:

Star your top 3 to 5.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Sources and credits. Grounded in ACT values work · Wilson, Sandoz, Kitchens & Roberts (2010), The Psychological Record. SOLA Brain Library · Values Series