Brooke’s Inside Voice
Getting Your ACT Together: A New Year Reset for Your Inner World
By Brooke Bertrand, MA, RP
The work of winter is rest. In our Northern Hemisphere, the Earth is sleeping and our ancestors would have listened to and leaned on nature’s wisdom to go inward, be still, tend to the animals, rely on the harvest of the previous season, rest at home, commune with neighbors to support survival, and prepare for spring planting. However, in our modern culture, the new year comes with spoken and unspoken expectations that we should feel energized, motivated, and ready to make big changes. It comes with pressure to “resolve something,” to reinvent ourselves through setting better goals, breaking old habits, and finally “getting it together. I invite you to consider the ideas from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which offers a different, more compassionate approach to change. Instead of fixing or forcing change, ACT invites us to build a meaningful life by changing our relationship with our thoughts and feelings, relying on values-based decision making and increasing psychological flexibility. In other words, it’s about getting your ACT together from the inside out.
ACT is grounded in six core processes that work together to help you build the ability to stay present, open, and engaged in life, even when things are hard. The first of these is acceptance. Acceptance doesn’t mean liking discomfort or giving up; it means making room for difficult emotions rather than fighting them. Lower energy, sadness, grief, or a desire to slow down are not signs of failure; they are often natural responses to shorter days and quieter rhythms. When we stop using all our energy to avoid anxiety, grief, or self-doubt, we free ourselves to move toward what actually matters. Just as the earth does not resist winter, ACT invites us to stop resisting our own inner seasons.
Slowing down in the winter often brings our thoughts into sharper focus. Winter can amplify familiar mental loops: I should be doing more. I’m falling behind. Everyone else seems ahead. I need to lose weight/get my body ready for summer. ACT reminds us that thoughts are not facts but mental events. Like winter storms, they move through on their own timeline. We don’t have to organize our worth or our choices around them. This leads into cognitive defusion, the skill of stepping back from our thoughts. Instead of being hooked by “I’m failing” or “I’m not enough,” cognitive defusion helps us notice these thoughts with curiosity and a bit of distance. When thoughts lose their grip, we gain more choice in how we respond.
ACT also emphasizes being present, a skill that aligns beautifully with winter’s quiet invitations. Mindfulness during this season doesn’t require calm or clarity; it asks only for attention. Presence might look like noticing the warmth of a blanket, the way the snow sparkles in the sunshine, the quiet of a winter morning, or the weight of your body resting. These small moments of awareness anchor us when the world feels dormant and remind us that life is still happening, even in the quiet. ACT encourages us to gently return to the here and now, even when the present moment is uncomfortable. This isn’t about forcing calm or emptying the mind; it’s about noticing what’s happening, inside and around us, with openness. Presence helps interrupt autopilot and reconnects us with our lived experience.
From here, ACT introduces a powerful concept: self-as-context. Rather than defining ourselves by our stories, roles, struggles, or productivity we learn to access the part of us that observes all of it. You are not your anxiety, your past, or your diagnosis, you are the steady awareness that notices all of it. This perspective can be deeply grounding, especially during times of transition or self-doubt. In winter, when identity can feel shaky or motivation fades, this perspective offers relief. You are not “less than” because you are resting. You are the one holding this season, just as you have held others.
From this place of steadiness, ACT turns toward values and asks a crucial question What do you want your life to stand for? Values are not goals to accomplish; they are qualities that guide how we live. Winter values may include rest, care, honesty, connection, or restoration. Like roots deepening beneath frozen ground, values work quietly, shaping future growth even when nothing visible seems to be happening. Clarifying what matters allows us to move gently but intentionally through the season and help us prepare for a more active, blooming time in our lives.
Finally, ACT emphasizes committed action—taking small, meaningful steps aligned with your values. In winter, committed action may look quieter than we expect. It might be setting firmer boundaries, nourishing your body, tending close relationships, or allowing yourself to pause without guilt. These actions do not require motivation or confidence, only willingness. Progress in ACT isn’t measured by how good you feel, but by how consistently you move toward what matters.
Getting your ACT together in a wintery new year does not mean forcing yourself into bloom while the ground is frozen. It means trusting the Earth’s wisdom in that rest is part of the work. Beneath the surface, something essential is unfolding. When the season shifts, that quiet work will matter. Until then, ACT reminds us that living a meaningful life doesn’t require feeling ready. It invites us to be present, open, and kind to ourselves, exactly where we are.
Brooke Bertrand, MA, RP, owner of Bright Raven Psychotherapy and brings over 20 years of experience helping clients navigate relationships, anxiety, burnout, addictions, and relational trauma. Trained in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, she guides partners toward real connection—and even reaches those who never thought therapy was for them.
Off the clock, she’s chasing two teenagers around hockey rinks. She believes life is lived best with humor, the love of cats, great books, good tea, and a great playlist.
Brooke’s Inside Voice will bring common therapy topics into the public spotlight, exploring the issues that quietly shape our relationships. From mental health and the hustle of modern life to the joys and challenges of being human and seeking connection to ourselves and others, Brooke shares insights that help readers understand themselves, their loved ones, and the ties that bind us.
