Personal Values
A Mind & Meaning Therapy Resource
Your answers stay on your device. Nothing you type here is sent to me or stored on this website. You can fill it in here and print it, or download the blank version and fill it in by hand.
Values are the things that matter most to you, deep down. They aren’t the things other people want from you, and they aren’t goals to tick off. They’re more like a compass for life: they point you in a direction that feels right for you.
When people feel a sense of unhappiness, it is sometimes because the lives they are living do not align with their values. This worksheet asks you to think about your values and get a sense of whether your life is working for you right now. There are no wrong answers here. You are the expert on your own life.
How to use this worksheet
Step 1: Write what matters
There’s a page for each of ten areas of life. On each one, write about who you want to be and how you want to act, in your own words. Think about how you want to be, rather than what you want to get.
Step 2: Rate it honestly
Select two numbers: how much this area matters to you, and how closely you’re living it right now. 0 means not at all, 10 means completely. You’re marking your own work, so be honest with yourself.
Step 3: Note down what gets in the way
Fears, habits, time, money, lifestyle, other people, old stories about yourself. There is nothing to fix here, just acknowledge what gets in the way.
Step 4: Small steps to change
Pick a few, small, realistic things you could do in the short term to move a little closer to what matters. Small changes are easier to commit to.
Some areas might not feel relevant to you right now, and some of the things that get in the way might not be things you can influence or control at the moment. That’s OK, as we’re just trying to observe what’s happening.
A value isn’t the same as a goal
“Get a promotion” is a goal. Once it’s done, it’s done. “Bringing care and effort to my work” is a value. You can live it today, whether the promotion comes or not. Goals are useful, but values are what keep you going.
Values work like this comes from a model of therapy called “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)” — which aims to enable people to live a life with more freedom and fulfilment.
Your summary
Putting it together
Now look back over what you’ve written. Your two scores for each area are copied into the table below, along with the gap between them. Where something matters a lot but isn’t getting much of your time or energy, that’s often the best place to start. Or perhaps you are focussing too much on things that don’t mean a lot to you.
| Area of life | How much it matters | How closely I’m living it | The gap |
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