Have you ever seen pictures of those vast refugee camps in African and Middle Eastern countries? Thousands of tents, clustered together in the middle of a barren wasteland, filled with people struggling to survive. Some of these camps shelter up to four hundred thousand refugees, each facing unimaginable hardships and trauma.

Could a simple psychological tool help these people cope with the overwhelming stress of camp life? The WHO thought it might. In 2015, they turned to Dr. Russ Harris and asked him to create a program based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) that could be delivered in refugee camps. The goal was to help people manage their emotions and stress, despite their circumstances.

"By focusing on values, even in the most difficult situations, we can begin to shape our actions and, ultimately, our lives."

The program was simple but powerful: 10 hours of audio recordings, delivered over five weeks, in small groups. The WHO rolled out the program in refugee camps across Syria, Turkey, and Uganda. And did it help? The results were remarkable. The refugees experienced significant improvements in their mental health, including reductions in depression and PTSD.

The key to this success? Values. In the refugee camps, many goals are impossible—getting a paid job, owning a car, living in a proper home, or reuniting with lost loved ones. For those of us who are fortunate enough to have what we need, it’s easy to take things like food, clean water, or a safe home for granted. But when we become preoccupied with goals that seem unachievable, frustration and disappointment inevitably follow.

But values—values are different. They are within our control, no matter where we are or what’s happening around us. We can live our values every single day, even if the larger goals seem impossible.

Let’s consider an example: imagine your goal is to get a paid job so you can support the people you care about. But your values—what you stand for—are to be kind, caring, loving, and supportive. Even if getting a job seems out of reach, you can still live those values. You can find small ways to be kind, caring, loving, and supportive to the people around you, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

"When we focus on what we can control—our actions—we regain power over our lives."

You might wonder, “What’s so empowering about that?” Here’s the thing: when we focus on things that are out of our control—things we can’t have or change—we become miserable and disempowered. But values connect us with what we can control: how we act. How we treat ourselves and others. The more we act according to our values, the more we influence the world around us. And that’s true power.

Imagine you’re living in a refugee camp, sharing a small tent with others. The world may seem beyond your control, but you can still choose to be kind, warm, and caring toward the people you share your tent with. Your actions won’t end the war or rebuild your home, but they will make the atmosphere inside your tent more bearable. And that is within your power.

The more we know our values, the easier it is to live by them, even in difficult times. And the more we live by them, the more we shape our lives in meaningful ways. It doesn’t mean we give up on our larger goals; it just means we find a way to empower ourselves in the face of hardship by acting in line with our values.

Even in the most extreme circumstances—whether living in poverty, battling illness, or facing prejudice—values remain accessible. You may not achieve the goals you desire, but you can still choose how to treat others and yourself. This is where real power lies.

For example, if you have a terminal illness, you may never reach the goal of “good health.” But you can still choose to be kind to yourself. This ability to act according to your values, even in the face of overwhelming difficulty, is what makes values so powerful. They help us navigate life’s challenges, even when the gap between where we are and where we want to be seems impossible to close.

"Values are not about achieving goals; they are about the person you choose to be every day."

In the end, values are not just a coping mechanism; they are a way of reclaiming agency over our lives. No matter where you are or what you’re facing, you can choose to live by your values. And in doing so, you shape your life in ways that matter, no matter how challenging the circumstances. This is the true essence of empowerment—living according to your values, even when everything else is out of your control.