How Tiny Values-Based Actions Help Us Feel More Grounded In Chaotic Times
I recently learned a new word: polycrisis.
A polycrisis is when multiple distinct crises—economic, environmental, geopolitical, social, technological—happen at the same time, interact with one another, and create an impact more severe than any one crisis alone.
I think it’s safe to say this word feels appropriate right now.
At a minimum, we’re watching climate and environmental crises pile onto geopolitical instability, economic volatility, and global uncertainty. And we’ve lived through this kind of collective overwhelm before—2020 is still fresh in our memories, when a global virus brought the world to its knees and left millions grieving or afraid.
It’s enough to make any of us feel like action isn’t enough.
Here we are again—five years later, entering 2026 with similar feelings but a different landscape. In my community of friends, family, and clients, the dominant emotion I’m hearing is uncertainty. How do you imagine setting intentions for the year when the world feels perpetually unstable?
Simply observing the news can leave us feeling hopeless. Stress-reduction techniques—meditation, journaling, exercise, pulling back from the news cycle—can help, and many people are embracing those practices.
But is stress reduction enough?
Probably not. It rarely provides the antidote to that deeper feeling of being untethered or out of control.
There is another approach that helps people feel more grounded during moments like these: small, values-driven actions.
What the research shows
Greater Good Magazine recently highlighted a study that captures this beautifully. Researchers Pninit Russo-Netzer and Ofer Israel Atad recruited 450 adults and divided them into three groups:
Group 1 (intervention): Participants chose an area of life they deeply valued and committed to a specific action aligned with that value. They carried out that action during the following week.
Group 2: Participants reflected on their values but made no plan or commitment.
Group 3: No intervention.
Participants in the first group—the ones who named a value and took a small action—reported significantly higher levels of well-being after one week, and that boost remained two weeks later.
Those who simply reflected on values did show improvements in well-being and fewer anxious or depressive symptoms, but the action-takers experienced a much more powerful effect.
Why?
Because turning an abstract value into a lived experience reminds us that we can still become the person we want to be—even when the world feels chaotic.
As Russo-Netzer explains:
“When life feels chaotic, acting on our values, even in small ways, can restore a sense of direction—not because circumstances improve, but because we remember who we are within them.”
And:
“Small actions anchored in personal values can restore a sense of agency in the moments when people feel most powerless.”
Taking Action
So yes—we’re living through difficult circumstances, with a grim outlook on many world events we cannot control. But we do still have choices.
When the external world feels chaotic, we can look inward and ask:
What value matters here—and what’s one small action I can take that puts that value to work?
That action might look like:
Mentoring a coworker
Joining a civic protest
Making a donation to a cause you care about
Writing a letter to a decision-maker
Volunteering locally
Reconnecting with a friend
Writing a note of apology to someone you’ve hurt
Talking with someone whose worldview is different
These don’t have to be grand gestures. In fact, the study focused specifically on small actions—a kind note, a tiny offering, a helping hand.
Recently, my daughter and I went to buy dog food for a few unhoused neighbors near her school who have dogs. It took ten minutes. It was simple. And it felt aligned with our value of compassion.
If you have more capacity, consider how you might engage locally. I’m a big fan of historian Heather Cox Richardson, who reaches hundreds of thousands of people craving clarity on national and international affairs. Her advice is simple: local action matters. It’s where we have the greatest influence.
Here are a few U.S.-based resources to explore:
A Closing Thought
In a world that feels like it’s spinning, values-based action is one of the few stabilizing forces we can count on. We don’t act because the world is stable—we act because we’re choosing who we want to be in the midst of instability.
Even the smallest action can reconnect you to yourself, remind you of your agency, and help you feel more grounded—not in spite of chaos, but within it.
If the world feels uncertain right now, choose one tiny action this week that aligns with a value that matters deeply to you.
Not to fix the world—but to anchor yourself in it.