Life is filled with ups and downs – some we can control and many we cannot. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a powerful, versatile therapeutic approach designed to help you navigate challenges by building psychological flexibility and resilience. But how exactly does ACT work, and what makes it so effective? In this post, we’ll introduce a few core principles of ACT and how they help you live a more meaningful and resilient life.

1. Accepting What You Can’t Control

• One of the most important aspects of ACT is learning to accept things that are out of your control. This doesn’t mean resigning yourself to suffering, but rather making space to experience painful emotions, thoughts, and experiences without letting them dominate your life. In ACT, we explore how trying to avoid or eliminate pain often makes it worse long-term. Instead, you learn to sit with discomfort and accept it as part of the human experience.  In that practice, we find the freedom to live well and create better lives.

How to Practice Acceptance:

• Next time you’re feeling anxious or sad, take a moment to breathe, notice, and name the thoughts and emotions coursing through you. Simply saying, “I’m feeling anxious right now,” can create distance between you and the experience.
• Practice mindfulness techniques to stay grounded and present with the emotion without trying to push it away.

2. Clarifying Your Values

• ACT encourages you to clarify your core values—what truly matters to you. When life feels overwhelming, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s important. Values are contextual and time-bound. That is – what matters most to us in that particular time and context, which may be much different from most mattered last year or in a different realm of life. In therapy, we work together to identify your values, whether that’s family, creativity, kindness, justice, self-respect, or many more. Once you have a clear sense of your values, you can start making choices that align with them, even when life or your own thoughts and feelings are pushing you in a different direction.

How Values Guide You:

• For example, if you value family and feel stressed by work demands, ACT helps you explore how to make decisions that prioritize family connection without ignoring your responsibilities. Living in alignment with your values helps bring meaning and purpose to your life, even in difficult times.

3. Committing to Action

• Once you’ve clarified your values, the next step is taking actions that align with them. In ACT, we talk about committed action, which means taking small, meaningful, strategic steps that embody your values and reach your goals. Helping you stay committed to the long-arc of good living even when life is tough.

Example of Committed Action:

• If one of your values is personal growth, a committed action might be trying a new hobby, even though you’re afraid of failure. Or, if your value is honesty, a committed action might be having a difficult conversation with a loved one. These small steps, over time, build resilience, peace, and satisfaction.

4. Developing Mindfulness

• Mindfulness is central to ACT. Being mindful means staying present and engaged in the moment, without getting swept up in worries about the past or future. It is the practice of being tuned in to the constant innate work of your nervous system to interpret your environment and motivate action. When we’re disconnected from our selves and our world, we’ll inevitably end up making decisions that are disconnected from our needs and values, a primary fuel of emotional and mental distress.

How to Be More Mindful:

• Start small by bringing mindful awareness to everyday activities, like eating or walking. Pay attention to your senses and stay fully engaged in the experience.
• Begin a new group physical practice such as yoga or tai chi.
• Set aside a few minutes each day for formal mindfulness practice, such as deep breathing or meditation.

5. Building Resilience through Psychological Flexibility

• At the heart of ACT is psychological flexibility—the ability to adapt to life’s ups and downs without getting stuck in negative thought patterns. This flexibility allows you to move forward, even when life is painful. Instead of avoiding difficult feelings or situations, you learn to embrace and learn from them and keep moving toward a meaningful life.

Next Steps

ACT offers a powerful framework for navigating life’s challenges by fostering acceptance, mindfulness, and value-driven action. Using this framework, you can build the resilience needed to live well, even when life is overwhelming. If you’re ready to explore how ACT can help you create a more resilient and meaningful life, The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris is a great place to start. You can also contact me or schedule a free consultation call to begin therapy.