ACT Values Card Sort Exercise

This ACT values card sort exercise is designed to help you identify the values that matter most to you right now. In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), values are not goals to achieve but ongoing directions that help guide meaningful action.

This interactive values card sort online tool allows you to reflect on different areas of life, including relationships, work, personal growth, health, and community.

By sorting and prioritizing values, you can gain greater clarity about the kind of person you want to be and the life you want to move toward.If you are new to ACT, you can also explore these additional ACT tools or learn more about ACT therapy in Vermont.

Start the exercise by entering your initials in the window below and clicking "Begin."

How to Use This ACT Values Card Sort

This ACT values card sort online exercise is designed to help you gradually narrow down the values that feel most meaningful to you right now.

You’ll first be presented with a series of powerful words associated with different personal values. Carefully consider whether each value feels important to you at this stage of your life.
If the value feels meaningful or significant, select “Most Important Right Now.” If it feels less relevant, select “Less Important.”
After you work through the full deck, you’ll be shown only the values you marked as important. During this second round, reflect more deeply on each value and again choose “Most Important Right Now” only if it genuinely resonates with you. The goal of this round is to narrow your list down to approximately 10 core values.
Once you have selected your top 10 values, the exercise will guide you through a final reflection process where you carefully choose the 6 values that feel most central to the kind of life you want to build.
At the end of the ACT values card sort exercise, you’ll have the option to download a PDF summary of your selected values along with additional exercises and prompts for deeper reflection and future values-based action.

Values cards typically used in a values card sort exercise in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

If you would like another exercise focused on values clarification, see ACT Values Exercise: Flipping Pain Into Purpose.

Why Values Matter in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

In ACT, psychological suffering often grows when people become trapped in avoidance, overthinking, self-criticism, or emotional control strategies. Over time, this can pull people away from the things they genuinely care about.

The goal of ACT is to increase psychological flexibility to spend more time doing those things we care about at the expense of avoidant or unhelpful behaviors.

Values help us decide what those things that we care about are. They provide guidance, particularly during difficult times. When painful thoughts or emotions arise, values can help guide small actions that move life in a meaningful direction.

Wooden sign pointing north against a clear blue sky acting as a metaphor for the concept of values in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Importantly, a value is not a goal. It is not something that you can ever achieve. A value is more like a direction: you can walk northward your whole life and never reach “North.” A value is the same. If you value being a caring person, no matter how caringly you behave, you will never be “finished” acting caringly.

A few examples of values include:

Being a caring parent.
Building honest relationships.
Creativity and learning.
Physical and mental health.
Courage and personal growth.
Compassion and connection.

Values work is often combined with mindfulness and acceptance exercises in ACT. You may also find these related exercises helpful:

Common Areas Explored in Values Card Sort Exercises

During a values card sort exercise, people often reflect on themes such as:

Relationships and family.
Community.
Career and meaningful work.
Creativity and self-expression.
Adventure and exploration.
Spirituality or purpose.
Health and self-care.
Learning and growth.
Contribution and service.
Honesty and authenticity.

There are no “correct” values. The purpose of the exercise is to identify what feels personally meaningful to you rather than what sounds impressive or socially desirable.

ACT Values Exercises and Psychological Flexibility

ACT values exercises are closely connected to the concept of psychological flexibility, which refers to the ability to stay present, open up to difficult experiences, and take actions aligned with values.

Research on ACT suggests that psychological flexibility is associated with improved mental health and greater emotional resilience. Rather than trying to eliminate uncomfortable thoughts entirely, ACT encourages people to build a richer and more meaningful life alongside them.