As we embark on committing to behavior change, of whatever kind, the key is to do so with psychological flexibility. What does that mean exactly? It means moving forward with self-compassion, not berating ourselves for inevitable missteps, and buying in when our judgmental minds label them, or ourselves, as failures.

Once we know the way in which we want to be living, the next step is to make habits of the values-based actions we choose. That begins when we make the Action pivot, away from either avoidant or socially compliant behavior toward persistent action that manifests our values.