10 ways to practice ACT
Below are several warm, simple Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) exercises you can begin using in your daily life. Each exercise is designed to be approachable and easy to understand, while still rooted in the core principles of ACT—learning to step back from unhelpful thoughts, making room for difficult feelings, staying present, clarifying what matters most, and taking small, meaningful steps forward. These practices can be used anytime between sessions to support your progress and help build psychological flexibility.
1. “Name the Story” Exercise
Purpose: Cognitive defusion — noticing thoughts without getting pulled into them.
How to do it:
When a distressing thought shows up, pause and gently label it as a “story.”
Say to yourself:
“Ah, here’s the ‘I’m not good enough’ story again.”
“There’s the ‘something bad will happen’ story.”
Notice how naming it creates just a little space between you and the thought.
Why it helps:
It removes the sense that your thoughts are facts and helps you observe them as mental events — not commands you have to obey.
2. “Leaves on a Stream” Visualization
Purpose: Acceptance and defusion — allowing thoughts to come and go.
How to do it:
Close your eyes and imagine sitting by a calm stream.
Each time a thought appears, imagine placing it on a leaf floating downstream.
Let the leaf drift away — no need to push it or hold onto it.
Return attention to your breath each time you notice yourself getting pulled in.
Why it helps:
Thoughts can pass on their own when we stop fighting them. This exercise teaches the skill of letting go gently.
3. The “Passengers on the Bus” Metaphor
Purpose: Acceptance + committed action.
How to do it:
Imagine you’re the driver of a bus.
Your thoughts, feelings, and fears are “passengers.” Some are loud, rude, or demanding.
Their job is to yell.
Your job is to keep driving the bus in the direction of your values.
You don’t have to get rid of passengers — just drive where you decide to go.
Why it helps:
It shows that difficult emotions don’t have to control your life. You can choose your direction even when discomfort shows up.
4. The 10-Second Centering Breath
Purpose: Present-moment grounding.
How to do it:
Breathe in for 4 seconds.
Hold for 1 second.
Breathe out for 5 seconds.
Notice the sensation of the breath leaving your body.
Repeat a few times.
Why it helps:
Very brief grounding practices help reset the nervous system and bring you back into the present moment quickly — useful during anxiety spikes.
5. “If I Weren’t Struggling With This…” Values Check-In
Purpose: Values clarification + committed action.
How to do it:
Ask yourself:
“If anxiety/OCD wasn’t running the show right now, what would I choose to do?”
Possible areas to reflect on:
Relationships
Hobbies
Creativity
Learning
Health
Work
Acts of kindness
Self-care
Choose one small step you can take — even if anxiety is still there.
Why it helps:
This question redirects focus from fear-based decisions to value-driven behavior.
6. “Make Room for the Feeling” Exercise
Purpose: Acceptance — allowing emotions instead of resisting them.
How to do it:
Identify where in your body you feel the emotion (tight chest, knot in stomach, tense shoulders).
Breathe gently into that area.
Imagine creating a bit more “space” around the sensation.
Say to yourself: “I can make room for this feeling. I don’t have to like it, just allow it.”
Why it helps:
Fighting feelings intensifies them. Making space reduces the struggle and helps the emotion pass more naturally.
7. “Next Right Step” Micro-Actions
Purpose: Committed action — building momentum toward values.
How to do it:
When stuck, anxious, or overwhelmed, ask:
“What is the next right step — the smallest, easiest step I can take?”
Examples:
Send one email.
Step outside for 30 seconds.
Put one dish away.
Take three slow breaths.
Write one sentence.
Then do just that one step. Nothing more.
Why it helps:
Small actions build confidence and reduce avoidance, and they support a sense of forward motion even during distress.
8. “Thank Your Mind” Technique
Purpose: Defusion — reducing the power of intrusive thoughts.
How to do it:
When your mind generates an anxious or intrusive thought, calmly say:
“Thanks, mind. I hear you.”
“Thanks for trying to protect me.”
Then gently redirect to what you’re doing.
Why it helps:
It interrupts the fight with your thoughts and reframes them as your mind’s (often misguided) effort to keep you safe.
9. “Values Card Sort” Mini Version
Purpose: Identifying what matters most.
How to do it:
Choose the top 3 values from this short list — the ones you want to guide your behavior this week:
Connection
Growth
Health
Kindness
Responsibility
Adventure
Creativity
Service
Stability
Learning
Then pick one small action for each value.
Why it helps:
ACT is about living out values in small daily ways, even in the presence of discomfort.
10. “Is This Moving Me Toward or Away From My Values?” Check-In
Purpose: Moment-to-moment decision-making.
How to do it:
When anxiety or OCD urges show up, ask:
“Is the action I’m about to take moving me toward my values… or away from them?”
There is no judgment — just information.
Then choose based on the direction you want your life to move.
Why it helps:
This aligns decisions with what matters, not what anxiety demands.
