Happiness is a direction
How to move towards ‘the good life’ using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
”The Good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.” Carl R. Rogers
We often find ourselves in situations that we don’t want to be in or having to do things we don’t particularly like.
At the time of writing this, it is more pertinent than ever for our wider society, as we learn to live within changing restrictions of COVID 19.
This brilliant quote by Carl R. Rogers’ suggests that the good life is not an outcome to be achieved, but it should be seen as a compass giving us a valued direction in life. It is a process. One that we have to be constantly engaged with and to be continually moving towards.
It is about seeing that we can all have a valued based compass helping us choose moves that are towards the person we want to be and the life that we want to have.
It is about acknowledging that there is no one set or right path to get there, and more about the process of moving in any direction that is in line with our values.
TIP - The important thing here is to take some time to consider what those values are.
Your values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live and work.
Values are not the goals we aspire to but the things we stand for and how we want to behave as we move through life.
To help you identify your values, you could ask yourself;
What sort of person do I want to be?
How do I want to treat ourselves and how do I want to treat others?
What sort of personal
strengths and qualities do I want to cultivate?
What do I want to do?
How do I want to behave?
How would I want to be remembered?
Once we have more clarity on our values we can bring them into our actions. We can use them within our actions, and always when we do this, whatever we are doing becomes more rewarding.
This perspective is from the Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) model of therapy which many of the My Therapist Online experts are trained and experienced in using.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an action-oriented approach to psychotherapy that stems from traditional cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) uses and teaches mindfulness and acceptance strategies that help people develop psychological flexibility.
ACT can help people recognise how trying to avoid, suppress, block or push away challenging experiences can cause problems. Instead, it helps people accept their negative thoughts and feelings and become better at taking action towards more valued behaviours that support well-being.
With this understanding, we can begin to accept our problems and commit to making necessary changes in our behaviour, regardless of what is going on in our lives, and how we feel about it.
Written by
Director of My Therapist Online
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