Reigniting Without Resigning: How ACT Helps You Find Your Way Back
If you’re feeling burned out, exhausted, or completely disconnected from your work, you’re not alone.
And yes, sometimes the most empowering, self-honoring decision is to walk away from a job that’s misaligned with your values. For many, that choice brings clarity, peace, and healing.
But quitting isn’t the only way forward.
If you’re wondering whether you have to leave everything behind to feel better, I want to offer another perspective.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based framework that helps people live meaningful, values-aligned lives—even when things feel messy, uncertain, or stuck.
It’s not about avoiding discomfort.
It’s about learning how to pivot, reconnect, and persist without burning out.
Here’s how ACT’s six core processes can help you reignite your spark—without walking away.
Download the FREE Values Living Questionnaire for a deeper reflection
ACT’s Six Core Processes
1. Values: Start With a Check-In
In the ACT community, a value is defined as a chosen way of being that matters to you, not because of what you get out of it, but because of how it feels to live that way. The reward is in the doing, not the outcome.
So ask yourself: “What are my values as it relates to my employment?” or “How do I want to show up as an employee?” or “What matters most to me as a professional?”
Realign with what YOU define as meaningful within this context.
2. Defusion: Don’t Believe Everything You Think
Burnout thoughts sound like: “I’m failing,” “I can’t do this anymore,” and “Everyone else has it together.”
Defusion teaches us to see these as mental chatter, not facts.
Try this:
When a thought overwhelms you, or hooks you so strongly that maybe you start to feel resentful or frustrated towards your job, say: "I’m noticing I'm having the thought that ___."
I mean it, literally stop, and say to yourself the words, “I’m noticing I’m having the thought/feeling that ___.”
It creates space between you and your mind. The pause between the thought and the reaction can be short, but when this strategy is adopted into consistent daily practice, the space becomes more impactful.
3. Acceptance: Make Space for the Hard Stuff
This doesn’t mean tolerating toxicity. It means stopping the fight against stress, guilt, or fatigue.
Sometimes the fastest way forward is to let discomfort ride alongside you—instead of resisting it.
4. Present Moment Awareness: Come Back to Now
When you’re caught in work spirals, rehashing yesterday’s conflict or obsessing over what might go wrong, burnout deepens.
Mindfulness helps anchor your attention to what’s in front of you.
Try this quick grounding exercise:
5-4-3-2-1: Name 5 things you see, 4 things you feel, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, 1 thing you taste.
5. Self-as-Context: You Are More Than a Job Title
Burnout can trap you in a narrow story about who you are at work.
You might feel stuck in identities like:
“If I want something done right, I need to be the one to add it to my plate.”
“I need to be the one to hold it together.”
“I’m the responsible one on the team, so I should be the one to check in.”
But here’s the thing: You don’t have to engage in behaviors just because of the story your mind is telling you.
ACT introduces a powerful skill called self-as-context—the ability to step back and zoom out.
It’s about taking a flexible perspective across person, place, and time to see the broader picture of your life—not just the burnout story your mind is repeating today—and to tap into a place of noticing, not just doing.
Dr. Steven C. Hayes describes this as:
“Flexible perspective-taking that affords a sense of a witnessing self.”
In practice, this means accessing the you who can observe your thoughts, emotions, and roles—while also noticing how those things shift over time, across situations, and in relation to others.
Try this:
The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, pause and reflect:
When was the first time I remember feeling this way in a work setting?
What level was I at in my career? Who was my boss? What were my responsibilities?
If that past version of me were in the room with me now, what would I want to tell them?
This exercise helps you shift out of the narrowed, reactive present—and into a fuller awareness of your own experience. The advice you’d give your past self is often the same wisdom you need right now. That’s the power of perspective.
6. Committed Action: Move with Meaning
Start small. Seriously! This isn’t just a quick trick or suggestion. Speaking as a BCBA, ideally you collect baseline data on your target behavior and set a realistic change. This is specific to the individual and their current circumstances, so honor where you’re at!
Pick one thing that aligns with your values and protects your energy, not your story.
Maybe it’s turning off Slack at 6pm.
Maybe it’s saying “no” without an apology.
Maybe it’s identifying what tasks are your responsibility and what are not and then accepting the discomfort that comes along with things not happening the “right” way because it wasn’t done by you.
Let your values guide your behavior—even when the path is imperfect.
From Survival Back to Fulfillment
Burnout doesn’t always mean it’s time to go. Sometimes it’s learning the mental strength to persist even through discomfort.
To set boundaries with your calendar.
To stop proving and start living.
To come back to what made your work matter in the first place.
Because joy doesn’t always come from living your life—It comes from learning how to live it differently.
Try This: Workplace Values Alignment Exercise
Download the FREE Valued Living Questionnaire for a deeper reflection
Use the free supplemental PDF above to walk through a guided values reflection that helps you reconnect with what matters most at work—and how your current behavior reflects (or strays from) those values.
Here’s a quick preview:
Step 1: Identify what matters.
Rate how important different workplace values are to you—things like flexibility, integrity, belonging, or meaningful work.
Step 2: Check your alignment.
Next, rate how consistent your actions have been with each value over the past week.
Pay attention to values you’re neglecting or possibly overdoing.
Step 3: Reflect and rebalance.
Notice where your energy may be out of sync. Are you chasing perfection or overcompensating in certain areas?
Use the reflection prompt to explore why—and what small shift might bring more balance.
Values aren’t about being perfect. They’re about choosing what matters—again and again—even when it’s hard.
Want More?
Ready to Feel Aligned Again—Without Quitting?
If you’re burned out but don’t want to leave your job, you’re not alone.
And you don’t have to figure it out alone either.
