BULL’S EYE VALUES EXERCISE

CLARIFYING YOUR VALUES

Deep down inside, what is important to you? What do you want your life to stand for? What sort of qualities do
you want to cultivate as a person? How do you want to be in your relationships with others? Values are our
heart's deepest desires for the way we want to interact with and relate to the world, other people, and ourselves.
They are leading principles that can guide us and motivate us as we move through life. Values reflect what you
want to do, and how you want to do it. They are about how you want to behave towards your friends, your family,
yourself, your environment, your work, etc.

Values are not the same as goals. Values involve ongoing action; they are like directions we keep moving
in, whereas goals are what we want to achieve along the way. A value is like heading West; a goal is like
the river or mountain or valley we aim to cross whilst traveling in that direction. Goals can be achieved or
‘crossed off’, whereas values are ongoing. (No matter how far West you go, you never reach it!) For
example, if you want to be a loving, caring, supportive partner, that is a value: it involves ongoing action. In
contrast, if you want to get married, that’s a goal - it can be ‘crossed off’ or achieved. If you want a better
job, that’s a goal. Once you’ve got it - goal achieved. But if you want to fully apply yourself at work,
contribute your best, and engage fully in what you’re doing, that’s a value: it involves ongoing action.

PART 1: THE BULL’S EYE

The ‘Bull’s Eye’ is a values-clarification exercise designed by a Swedish ACT therapist called Tobias
Lundgren. The dartboard on the following pages is divided into four important domains of life:
work/education, leisure, relationships and personal growth/health. To begin with, please write down your
values in these 4 areas of life. Not everyone has the same values, and this is not a test to see whether you
have the "correct" ones. Think in terms of general life directions, rather than in terms of specific goals.
There may be values that overlap – e.g. if you value studying psychology, that may come under both
Education and Personal Growth. Write down what you would value if there were nothing in your way,
nothing stopping you. What’s important? What do you care about? And what you would like to work
towards? Your value should not be a specific goal but instead reflect a way you would like to live your life
over time. For example, to take your son to the movies might be a goal; to be an involved and interested
parent might be the underlying value. Note! Make sure they are your values, not anyone else’s. It is your
personal values that are important!

1. Work/Education: refers to your workplace & career, education and knowledge, skills development. (This
may include volunteering and other forms of unpaid work). How do you want to be towards your clients,
customers, colleagues, employees, fellow workers? What personal qualities do you want to bring to your
work? What skills do you want to develop?

_______________________________________________________________________________________
I want to be supportive and helpful to my clients when needed to reach their own success and feel
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empowered. Personal qualities I want to bring to work is understanding, charasmatic, and influential.
Some skills I want to develop is my messaging and marketing to influence someone to take that step to
making changes in their life
_______________________________________________________________________________________

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2. Relationships: refers to intimacy, closeness, friendship and bonding in your life: it includes relationships
with your partner, children, parents, relatives, friends, co-workers, and other social contacts. What sort of
relationships do you want to build? How do you want to be in these relationships? What personal qaulities
do you want to develop?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

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I want to develop a supportive and patient relationship with everyone around me. I want to build
relationships that are in alignment with my values and hopefully have the same vision to support growth.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
I want to be charismatic, knowledabgle, reliable. Personal qualities I want to develop are patient

_______________________________________________________________________________________

3. Personal Growth/Health: refers to your ongoing development as a human being. This may include
include organized religion, personal expressions of spirituality, creativity, developing life skills, meditation,
yoga, getting out into nature; exercise, nutrition, and addressing health risk factors like smoking.

_______________________________________________________________________________________
I think reducing how much I smoked/get high + less frequent drinking so that I can enjoy myself. I do it
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so I stop thinking of work sometimes. I think id like to expand my social battery by meeting other people
and getting out in nature or doing more fun things that arent smoking/drinking/getting food
_______________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

4. Leisure: refers to how you play, relax, stimulate, or enjoy yourself; your hobbies or other activities for
rest, recreation, fun and creativity.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

I_______________________________________________________________________________________
like to be active for relax, so camping, playing a game (soccer, volleyball) but also work with others to
make ourselfs better
_______________________________________________________________________________________

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THE BULL’S EYE: Read through your values, then make an X in each area of the dart board, to represent
where you stand today. An X in the Bull’s Eye (the centre of the board) means that you are living fully by
your values in that area of life. An X far from Bull’s Eye means that you are way off the mark in terms of
living by your values.

Since there are four areas of valued living, you should mark four Xs on the dart board.
I am living fully by I have lost touch
my values with my values

Work/ Leisure
Education

Personal growth/ Relationships

Health
PART 2: IDENTIFY YOUR OBSTACLES

Now write down what stands between you and living your current life as you want to, from what you have
written in your areas of value. When you think of the life you want to live and the values that you would
like to put in play, what gets in the way of you living that kind of life? Describe any obstacle (s) on the lines
below.

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Im not making enough money or have enough skills yet to take it easy and be more aligned. So
finances, and more specific, a steady income doing what I enjoy. But because im so focused on it, it
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makes me fee like thats all I do 90% of the time, which would be fine if I felt like it was working great but
its more like a slow grind
_______________________________________________________________________________________

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Now estimate to what extent the obstacle (s) you just described can prevent you from living your life in a
way that is in keeping with your values. Circle one number below that best describes how powerful this
obstacle (s) is in your life.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Doesn’t prevent Prevents me
me at all completely

PART 3: MY VALUED ACTION PLAN

Think about actions you can take in your daily life that would tell you that you are zeroing in on the bulls-
eye in each important area of your life. These actions could be small steps toward a particular goal or they
could just be actions that reflect what you want to be about as a person. Usually, taking a valued step
includes being willing to encounter the obstacle (s) you identified earlier and to take the action anyway.
Try to identify at least one value based action you are willing to take in each of the four areas listed
below.

I dont think I need to learn more per say, I just need to get better. Its like knowing the how to play
Work/Education: _________________________________________________________________________
soccer vs actually playing. One action I can take is be more patient because good things take time and
trying to rush a shitty product out does me no jusstice
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Leisure: ________________________________________________________________________________
Joining a local sports team and doing it a couple times per week
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Relationships: ___________________________________________________________ ________________

Just appreciate my gf more while also working to connect with other people on a deeper level
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Personal Growth/Health: ___________________________________________________ _______________

not be so hard on myself

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