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The closer to the centre, the more your life matches what you value. Tap the target or use the sliders.
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Values Bullseye
Interactive ACT dartboard for measuring the gap between aspirational values and real daily conduct.
The Values Bullseye is a powerful diagnostic for cognitive dissonance and value incongruence. In coaching, clients often articulate high-minded values ('Family is my top priority,' 'Health is everything to me'), yet their daily calendar reveals an opposite reality. The Bullseye partitions life into four core quadrants—Work/Education, Relationships, Personal Growth/Health, and Leisure—and asks the client to throw a visual 'dart' representing how close their actual daily behavior lands relative to the center (100% value-aligned living). This visual discrepancy provides gentle, unarguable leverage for real behavioral change.
Origin & Theoretical Lineage2006 / 2009 • Functional Contextualism & Relational Frame Theory (RFT)
Tobias Lundgren & Steven C. Hayes
1948–presentClinical Researchers & Founders of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Seminal Work: The Bull's-Eye Values Survey & Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (2012)
Photo archive: CC BY-SA 3.0Developed by Swedish ACT researchers Tobias Lundgren and JoAnne Dahl, and popularized worldwide by Dr. Russ Harris in 'ACT Made Simple', the Bull's-Eye Values Survey was engineered to give psychological flexibility a concrete visual measurement. Rather than evaluating goals (which are outcome-dependent), it evaluates valued living (which is process-dependent).
Interactive Values Bullseye Tool & Live Sandbox
Interact directly with the live client canvas below. Drag, select, or configure values exactly as a client experiences them on desktop or mobile.
Values Bullseye Live Canvas
Interactive preview entries are client-side only and are not saved until sent via a coaching assignment.
Visual Concept Blueprint & Pedagogical Architecture
Examine the structural mechanics of Values Bullseye below. Click any quadrant, node, or spectrum dimension to reveal facilitator observation cues, client blind spots, and diagnostic breakthroughs.
Concentric Values Target• Axis: Full Value Congruence (Bullseye)
Click any segment to inspect coaching cuesSegment 01
Work & Education
Target Action: Evaluate vocational integrity and craft dedication
Facilitator Observation Cue
Ask what values client embodies when nobody is appraising their output.
Client Cognitive Trap
Chasing external validation metrics disconnected from intrinsic purpose.
Thematic Coaching Metaphor
“Congruence Targeting: The Bullseye maps the distance between declared philosophical values and actual daily conduct.”
Core Coaching Principles
The Values Bullseye model provides a structured cognitive scaffold for clients to externalize internal dialogue, separate objective observations from emotional interpretations, and discover actionable pathways forward.
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Teleological Directionality
Values vs. Goals Distinction
Goals are finite destinations that can be crossed off (e.g., 'Get married,' 'Run a marathon'); values are directions on a compass (e.g., 'Being loving,' 'Cultivating physical vitality') that can never be completed, only embodied in the present moment.
02
Cognitive Dissonance Resolution
Radical Behavioral Congruence
Psychological suffering intensifies when behavior consistently diverges from internal values. Plotting the dart on the outer ring acknowledges this friction without moral condemnation.
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ACT Matrix Behavioral Activation
Committed Action (Toward Moves)
Every micro-action either moves the client toward the bullseye (Toward Move) or away from the bullseye in service of experiential avoidance (Away Move).
Framework Anatomy & Structure
Every dimension of Values Bullseye is calibrated for direct coaching facilitation. Below is how the interactive model breaks down for client delivery:
Category & FocusValues
UI Component
values_bullseyeScoring & GeometryConcentric 4-ring dartboard: Center (Bullseye = Living fully by values), Ring 2 (Close), Ring 3 (Distant), Outer Edge (Completely disconnected/off-track).
Client ModalityDrag-and-drop dart placement across 4 distinct life quadrants with qualitative obstacle tagging.
Coach AI SynthesisCalculation of Valued Living Congruence Index (VLCI), quadrant dissonance heatmapping, and generation of targeted weekly 'Toward Move' experiments.
Structural Dimensions & Diagnostic Focus
Work / Education
Professional ethics, vocational mastery, contribution, leadership, and workplace relationships.
Relationships
Intimacy, deep listening, vulnerability, family bonds, and friendship integrity.
Personal Growth / Health
Spiritual alignment, physical vitality, emotional recovery, and continuous self-expansion.
Leisure & Play
True restoration, playfulness, creativity, and unstructured presence without productivity guilt.
Session Facilitation Protocol: The 4-Phase Arc
Facilitating Values Bullseye effectively requires more than sending a blank canvas. Follow this structured 4-phase coaching arc:
Phase 01
Phase 1: Values Articulation
For each quadrant, ask the client: 'If nobody was grading you and nobody was watching, how do you genuinely desire to show up here?'
Phase 02
Phase 2: Honest Dart Placement
Invite the client to place the dart reflecting their actual conduct over the past 30 days. Emphasize: 'This is not about your intent; it is about your physical actions.'
Phase 03
Phase 3: Mapping the Obstacles
For any dart landing outside the center, identify what internal barrier pulled them away: fear of conflict, fatigue, people-pleasing, or addiction to busyness.
Phase 04
Phase 4: Designing One Toward Move
Formulate a tiny, concrete behavioral experiment for the quadrant furthest from the center that can be executed within 48 hours.
Session Facilitation & Inquiries
Values vs. Goals Distinction
Goals are finite destinations that can be crossed off (e.g., 'Get married,' 'Run a marathon'); values are directions on a compass (e.g., 'Being loving,' 'Cultivating physical vitality') that can never be completed, only embodied in the present moment.
Radical Behavioral Congruence
Psychological suffering intensifies when behavior consistently diverges from internal values. Plotting the dart on the outer ring acknowledges this friction without moral condemnation.
Committed Action (Toward Moves)
Every micro-action either moves the client toward the bullseye (Toward Move) or away from the bullseye in service of experiential avoidance (Away Move).
5 Powerful Questions to Ask During Exploration
- Question 1: “If your calendar and bank statement were the only evidence of your values, what would they say matters most to you?”
- Question 2: “What uncomfortable feeling are you currently avoiding that is keeping your Relationships dart on the outer ring?”
- Question 3: “What is one tiny action—taking less than 15 minutes—that would nudge your Health dart 10% closer to the center this week?”
- Question 4: “If you were 80 years old looking back, how would you feel about having spent this season so far from your Leisure bullseye?”
- Question 5: “What would 'living in the bullseye' look like on a Tuesday afternoon during a high-stress workday?”
Facilitator Golden Rule
Never allow values to become a stick the client uses to beat themselves with.
Values are meant to inspire and orient, not provoke shame or guilt. When a client places a dart on the outer edge, validate the courage it took to acknowledge the gap, and pivot immediately to self-compassionate action.
Critical Traps & Anti-Patterns to Avoid
Trap 01
Confusing Social Expectations with True Values
The Pitfall: Clients placing darts based on what their parents, company, or culture told them they 'should' value.
Master Coach Remedy: Ask the isolating test: 'If you lived on a desert island and no one could ever praise you for this, would you still care about it?'
Trap 02
Overcomplicating the First Toward Move
The Pitfall: Clients wanting to overhaul their entire life schedule overnight, leading to instant failure.
Master Coach Remedy: Force micro-granularity: 'What is a 5-minute action you can do before 5 PM tomorrow?'
Worked Case Study: Real-World Coaching Application
Fictional Coaching Scenario
Corporate Attorney Reclaims Family Presence
Client Profile: Sarah, 41, Senior Partner at an International Law Firm, Mother of Two
Presenting Challenge: Sarah came to coaching after her 9-year-old daughter asked: 'Why do you love your laptop more than us?' Sarah was heartbroken and racked with maternal guilt.
Facilitation Process: The coach introduced the Values Bullseye. While Sarah placed her Work dart directly in the bullseye, her Relationships dart was situated on the furthest outer perimeter. When defining her core value for Relationships, Sarah wrote: 'Full emotional presence and warmth.' When asked what was pulling her away, she cited the reflex of answering associate emails during family dinners.
Breakthrough Realization: Sarah recognized that her behavior was driven by an anxious fear of losing status at the firm. She realized that being in the bullseye did not require quitting law, but establishing an ironclad evening boundary.
Measurable Outcome: Sarah created a physical phone lockbox in her entryway. Every night from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM, her phone was locked away for dinner, bedtime reading, and connection. Within 3 weeks, she reported feeling 'alive again' as a parent, and moved her Relationships dart into the second ring.
Worksheets & Playbooks Using This Framework
Deploy this framework immediately in your practice. The templates below embed Values Bullseye alongside guided coaching questions, PDF exports, and AI synthesis:
Ready for Client Delivery
Deliver Values Bullseye to Your Coaching Clients in 60 Seconds
Stop emailing static PDFs. Send this interactive framework with zero client friction, track completions, and get AI-synthesized debriefs before each session.
Zero-Login Magic Links: Clients complete on mobile without passwords
AI Synthesis: Automatic debrief summaries before each call
White-Label Ready: Showcase your coaching brand, colors & logo
Customizable: Add custom reflection prompts in the drag-and-drop builder