Activity 2.8 Bull’s Eye Exercise

ACT Processes:

• Values
• Committed Action

Objectives:

• Introduce a way to conceptualize values as being embedded and manifested in multiple life domains
• Facilitate participants’ reflection of their current actions and their values in multiple domains
• Introduce a tool that participants can use to visually track their progress towards their values

Participation Format:

• Participants sit in a horseshoe formation. The facilitators are in front with the flip-chart with a large bull’s eye on it. Participants will do work on their own. Then, some participants will volunteer to come up to interact with the facilitators and use the flip-chart to share their work.

Number of Facilitators:

• 2

Time Required:

• 25 mins

Materials Required:

• Flipchart and masking tape
• water-based colour markers
• Appendix 2.8a – Bull’s Eye: Valued Living
• Appendix 2.8b – Values, Goals, and Life Areas
• Appendix 2.8c – Values And Goals Worksheet

Activities & Instructions

Instructions for participants

1. Introduction

Describe the overall purpose of the exercise.

• As we discussed, we all have our own set of values that are really important to us and give our lives a sense of direction and meaning. In this exercise, we will explore our values in our various life domains.

2. Draw a bull’s eye and divide it into quadrants.

One facilitator uses a marker to draw 5 concentric circles on a flipchart to make a bull’s eye. Divide this into quadrants. Label each quadrant: Self-care, Work, Family, and Friends/Community. The other facilitator can distribute handouts of the bull’s eye.

3. Have participants reflect on their current behaviors.

Ask participants to think about their current behaviours in these four domains and whether they are consistent with their values; they can record them on the handout of the bull’s eye.

• We have many different areas of our lives. Let’s begin with these four major areas.
• In each of these quadrants, place an ‘X’ on the place where you think you’re at when you look back at the kinds of things you’re doing or not doing with respect to your values. How satisfied are you with your own actions if you use your own values as a yardstick to measure?
• In the context of our project, see if you can especially reflect on your values about the promotion of mental health in the four different life domains.
• For example, if your value is that you will promote your own wellbeing by taking care of your physical and mental health in the ‘Self-care’ domain in this quadrant, but you find yourself never exercising, not taking care of your diet, not getting enough sleep, smoking, and never going for a check-up, etc. you may find that your actions are not that consistent with what you value. You’ll put an ‘X’ pretty far off from the centre, like out here.
• Note that we’re looking for the consistency of your own actions with your values, and not evaluating any idealized outcome. So in the previous example, you may actually find yourself putting an ‘X’ in the centre area if you take excellent care of yourself, even if you have a serious mental and physical illness, since your actions are already perfectly ‘on target’ and inline with your values. Your own actions are constantly taking you slightly closer towards health in this case even if you have lots of illnesses.
• At the bottom of the sheet, note down what supports you and what hinders you as you strive to move forward towards your values.

4. Allow participants to share.

Ask participants who are willing to share the results of the exercise in the group. Get them to come up to the front and use a colour marker to put an ‘X’ in each of the quadrants. Use a different colour (or symbols such as different shapes or initials) for each volunteer.

• Would anyone like to share what this exercise is like for you?
• Were there any surprises?
• Can you please come up, choose a colour marker, and put an ‘X’ in each of the four quadrants. Please share with us why they are not in the centre.

5. Conclude.

Summarize all the reflections shared about this exercise, especially about the nature of values. Note that the bull’s eye is a tool that we can use to track our own progress. Discuss the many different areas of our lives and give out the values handouts (Appendix 2.8 b and c). We use the four domains as a starting point, and participants may want to do the same exercise with other areas. This will help us determine which areas we need to work on.

References & Sources

• Adapted and modified from Bull’s Eye (Dahl and Lundgren, 2006, p. 139-142)
• Adapted from Values Worksheet (Hayes et al, 2012, p. 311-315)

Appendix 2.8a – Bull’s Eye: Valued Living

Are you pursuing what is important to you? When our values and our actions are aligned, we will be in the centre of the bull’s eye. Please rate the consistency of your current actions with respect to your own values in the following four areas of life by putting an “X” in each quadrant. For example:

• Mary is dying of cancer. She puts an “X” in the centre in the in self-care quadrant because she values an active lifestyle and is regularly exercising
• Johnny is physically healthy and values an active lifestyle, but he doesn’t exercise anymore. He marks an “X” in one of the outer circles, because he is not pursuing what he values as important.
  Tom doesn’t care about having an active lifestyle. He puts an “X” in self-care because he is already taking care of himself in all the other ways that are important to him by eating well and getting enough sleep.

Explain why you put the “X”s where they are (e.g. what supports you or what gets in your way):

Self-care:

Work:

Family:

Friends/ Community:

Appendix 2.8b – Values, Goals, and Life Areas

1. Friendships/social life. What sort of qualities would you like to bring to your friendships? If you could be the best friend possible, how would you behave toward your friends? What sort of friendships would you like to build?
2. Career/employment. What do you value in your work? What would make it more meaningful? What kind of worker would you like to be? If you were living up to your own ideal standards, what personal qualities would you like to bring to your work? What sort of work relations would you like to build?
3. Marriage/couples/intimate relations. What sort of partner would you like to be in an intimate relationship whether or not you are in a relationship now? What personal qualities would you like to develop? What sort of relationship would you like to build? How would you interact with your partner if you were the “ideal you” in this relationship?
4. Education/personal growth and development. What do you value about learning, education, training, or personal growth? What new skills would you like to learn? What knowledge would you like to gain? What further education appeals to you? What sort of student would you like to be? What personal qualities would you like to apply?
5. Recreation/fun/leisure. What sorts of hobbies, sports, or leisure activities do you enjoy? How do you relax and unwind? How do you have fun? What sorts of activities would you like to do?
6. Family relations. What sort of brother/sister, son/daughter, uncle/aunt do you want to be? What personal qualities would you like to bring to those relationships? What sort of relationships would you like to build? How would you interact with others if you were the ideal you in these relationships?
7. Citizenship/environment/ community life. What type of neighbour would you like to be?
   How would you like to contribute to your community or environment, e.g. through volunteering, or recycling, or supporting a group/ charity/ political party?
8. Spirituality. Whatever spirituality means to you is fine. It may be as simple as communing with nature, or as formal as participation in an organized religious group. What is important to you in this area of life?
9. Parenting. What sort of parent would you like to be? What sort of qualities would you like to have? What sort of relationships would you like to build with your children? How would you behave if you were the “ideal you”?
10. Health/physical well-being. What are your values related to maintaining your physical well-being? How do you want to look after your health, with regard to sleep, diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol, etc? Why is this important?

Appendix 2.8c – Values And Goals Worksheet

Choose one or more life areas from the “Values, Goals and Life Areas” handout to work on below. Only choose Life Areas where pain has held you back from achieving your goals. For each life area identify values, goals and short-term committed action using the example below. Be sure to write about what you value, not what you think your friends’, family’s, or society’s expectations are.

Examples: