Free printable PDF
Values clarification worksheet
Find your values in your own stories. Six reflective questions, then the values hidden in your answers and the few that keep coming back.
- Free to print
- A4 and US Letter
- 4 languages
- 2 pages
- 30 to 45 minutes
Inside the worksheet
How the values clarification worksheet works
Find your values in your own stories. Six reflective questions, then the values hidden in your answers and the few that keep coming back. It takes 30 to 45 minutes.
- 1
Answer six questions
A time you felt most like yourself, a person you admire, what makes you angry, a week with nothing to prove, what you want said at your 80th birthday, and a hard decision you got right.
- 2
Find the values in your answers
Read your answers back and circle the values they point to, in the list of 62 on the second page.
- 3
Keep the ones that come back
Write down the values that appear in more than one answer, along with any that appear only once but feel especially important to you.
- 4
Check them against your life
For each of them, note where your life already reflects it and where it does not yet.
For therapists and coaches
Using it with a client
- 01
Stories before labels
Let your client answer in full sentences before naming any value. Labels chosen too early tend to be the ones that sound right.
- 02
Listen for the repeats
A value that shows up in a proud moment and in what makes your client angry is usually central.
- 03
Turn it into a ranking
When the values are clear, the core values worksheet or the online ranking puts them in order.
For coaches and facilitators
Prefer to send a link?
Invite clients to rank their values online before your session. They compare their values two at a time, and you see their ranking on your dashboard when you meet.
- 01
Send an invitation
Add your client's name and send a link. No installation required.
- 02
They discover their priorities
Clients select the values that matter to them and compare them in pairs to build their ranking.
- 03
Start with their results
Review their ranking before the session and use it to guide your conversation.
Running a workshop?
Invite the whole group with one link. Collect participants' rankings in one place and use them to start a shared discussion.
A conversation starter.The ranking is a starting point for reflection. You and your client decide together what it means.
More worksheets
Other values worksheets
Core values worksheet
Find your core values in four steps. Mark the ones that fit out of 62, narrow them to ten, rank your top five two at a time, and plan how to live them.
- First sessions, life and career coaching
- 25 to 35 minutes
- 3 pages
ACT values worksheet
Values in eight life areas, the way Acceptance and Commitment Therapy approaches them. Rate how much each area matters and how fully you live it, then choose one step where the gap is widest.
- ACT and values-based therapy
- 20 to 30 minutes
- 2 pages
Values checklist
All 62 values on one page, each with a short meaning. Tick the ones that fit, circle your ten and star your top three.
- Classes, workshops and a quick start
- 10 minutes
- 1 page
Questions
Questions about the values clarification worksheet
Values clarification is the process of working out what you value through reflection on your own experience rather than by picking from a list. It goes back to the work of Louis Raths, Merrill Harmin and Sidney Simon in the 1960s and is used today in counselling, coaching, ACT and education.
Six: a time you felt most like yourself, a person you admire and why, what makes you angry or frustrated, how you would spend a week if no one were watching, what you would want said at your 80th birthday, and a hard decision you got right.
Strong frustration often means something you care about is being stepped on. Someone angered by unfairness usually values justice, and someone angered by being micromanaged usually values independence.
Yes. Give everyone the first page, then let people share one answer in pairs before finding their values on the second page. Hearing the same question answered differently makes the values easier to see.
Can I use it with clients?
Yes. Print as many copies as you need for yourself, your clients, a class or a workshop, at no cost. Please keep the footer with the source on every page, and do not sell the worksheet or put it behind a paywall.
Rank your own values online
Compare your values two at a time and see them ranked. Free, no account, about ten minutes.
Rank my values