Live a Life of Vitality
Goal
To learn how to live a life of vitality.
The Spirals of Vitality & Inflexibility (pp. 197-198)
Imagine that life is like driving a bus and that your problems are like passengers that come aboard your bus. You have a choice whether you drive your bus into the acceptance and commitment cycle or the control and avoidance cycle. On both cycles, problems will occur regularly, but on the acceptance and commitment cycle, progress is being created since you see that there is a distinction between you, the driver of the bus, and the passengers you carry. You are living a more vital, flexible, and values-based life. When the other path is taken, you will likely spiral down in a narrower, more struggle-based and less flexible life. Life is a choice. The choice here is not about whether or not to have pain. It is whether or not to live a valued, meaningful life.
To better understand the bus metaphor, watch the following video called Passengers on a Bus - An ACT Metaphor:
Changing Your Behavior
Here’s a summary of some ways to change your behavior:
- Focus on values as your compass to guide your behaviors
- Keep the focus on things you have control over (avoid pulling in requirements and expectations for other people, places, and things as these are out of our control)
- Be flexible, mindful, and accepting when implementing behavior change since willingness and adaptability are more important than desire for success
It is important to tie this knowledge about changing behavior with the ideal direction of your behavior change, which is towards your values. This means you will not listen to your thoughts and feelings when they begin pulling you towards the same ineffective ways of responding to situations and issues in life. Instead, you will remember what your values are and examine whether your current ways of thinking, behaving, and responding are in line with these values.
Reflection (Optional)
Write your thoughts down to better understand this concept.