A Compass for Living: How values give direction & meaning beyond the goal
Tuesday, February 3rd at 7:30 pm
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Explore how values-based living can act as a steady compass, restoring purpose, agency, and meaning when chronic illness disrupts your plans and goals.
Details: Values that give direction and meaning beyond the goal
A chronic illness like MS or FND often disrupts both our long-term hopes and our everyday plans. Big goals — whether a major outdoor adventure or a stepping stone toward a more expansive future — can begin to feel out of reach. At the same time, the unpredictability of symptoms can interfere with smaller, day-to-day intentions: getting out for a walk, meeting friends, or simply checking tasks off your to-do list. When plans are interrupted, it’s easy to feel frustrated and stuck, or even directionless, despite still caring deeply about the life you want to live.
This seminar explores how values-based living can offer a steady compass for navigating uncertainty and change. Drawing on strategies that build psychological flexibility, we’ll explore how values — what truly matters to you — can guide your actions and help you find meaning, even when plans shift or goals feel out of reach. We’ll focus on practical ways to help you live out your values, enabling you to take meaningful steps forward in both your everyday life and outdoor pursuits, even when the path ahead feels unpredictable.
This approach sits at the heart of the Mastering Mountains journey, where outdoor goals are not endpoints, but opportunities to clarify what matters most, strengthen a sense of agency, and discover meaning beyond the goal itself.
Before attending this session, we encourage you to spend around 20 minutes reflecting on your values using this free and helpful tool: Personal Values Test
What you will learn:
By the end of this Zoom session, you will better understand:
The difference between values and goals, and why values remain available even when goals change or feel out of reach
How chronic illness can pull attention away from values — particularly during setbacks, fatigue, or periods of discouragement
Practical strategies for values-based action, including how to take small, meaningful steps aligned with what matters most, both outdoors and in day-to-day life
How living in line with your values can support a sense of agency, hope, and identity, independent of physical capacity or outcomes
Your presenter: John Moffat
John Moffat has been a practising clinical psychologist since 2003, with extensive experience across various healthcare settings focused on both mental and physical health. He currently serves as the Manager of the Clinical Psychology Training Programme at Victoria University of Wellington – Te Herenga Waka, while also maintaining a part-time private practice.
Additionally, John is a co-founder of ACT Wellington, New Zealand’s first centre dedicated to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) training, supervision, and therapy. His primary area of interest is the application of ACT to medical conditions, emphasising an integrated approach to the body-mind connection that moves beyond traditional dualistic perspectives.