Why Vision Boards Can feel impossible After Loss

Even though we’re a few weeks into the new year now, I know a lot of that pressure is still lingering.
To Plan. Vision. Create. Set your word of the year.

But this time of year has always been tender for me.

Right after the new year comes my brother’s birthday and the anniversary of his passing. So I don’t rush in. I need to enter the year slowly.

Yet even as a coach, I often feel the pressure to show up more this time of year with inspiration, hope, and messages about what’s possible in the new year.

The truth is… sometimes that’s hard for me. I know I am not alone in that.

This post is for anyone who has experienced grief, loss, or a major life disruption and finds traditional vision boards hard, painful, or even impossible.

When Vision Boards Stop Feeling Supportive

I used to love vision boards. Creating my word of the year. Gratitude lists. Manifesting. All of it.

But that relationship changed for me after my brother passed away.

Don’t get me wrong. There is a time and place for these tools. I love helping people rebuild their lives and find hope again. I just also know how hard it can feel when life has already shown you how much can change without warning….and turn your life upside down.

There’s a moment I think about now that actually makes me laugh a little.

Many years ago, a friend called me out of the blue and asked if I “believed” in vision boards.

No exaggeration, I had literally ripped mine up hours before. Absolutely shredded it to pieces.

So I said, “Yeah, I used to… but I just ripped mine up, why?”

We both burst out laughing. She was not expecting that from me. I was always the one into visioning, spiritual tools, self development practices.. you name it.

But his passing was not part of my ‘vision’. The life I thought I was creating wasn’t the life that unfolded.

When Planning the Future Feels Unsafe

After loss, the pressure to envision, plan, or “trust the future” can feel impossible. Sometimes even enraging.

Not because those tools are wrong, but because life has already shown you that it doesn’t always unfold the way you imagined or planned.

When something shatters you open like that, imagining the future can feel unsafe. Your nervous system remembers. Your body remembers!

And no amount of positive thinking can override that truth.

A Gentler Way to Work With Visioning After Grief

Over the years, I’ve found my way back to some of those tools, but not in the same way.

Not with outcomes.
Not with promises.
Not with pressure.

Instead, more gently. More honestly. With room for grief, uncertainty, and acknowledging what I’ve lived.

That’s what I talk about in my latest YouTube video, why visioning can feel so hard after loss or disruption, and a different approach I call The Feeling Board. It’s a way to work with imagery that supports your nervous system instead of fighting it.

🎥 WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HERE:

If You’re Navigating Loss or Rebuilding Your Life

I also want to share this with you.

I’m opening a few spots in my one-on-one Sunset to Sunrise coaching journey.

It’s for anyone navigating loss, major transition, or just trying to rebuild a life that feels meaningful again, without rushing or forcing anything. I would love to support you.

✨ You can schedule a free connection call here:

🖤 Weekly Support on YouTube
For continued support, I also share weekly YouTube videos exploring grief, loss, and the process of rebuilding a meaningful life.

Watch on my YouTube channel here:

If you watch the video, reply back and let me know what resonates.
I always love hearing from you leave a comment here or on my youtube channel!

Thank you for being here.