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January Pressure, Vision Boards, and the Urge to Start Over
It’s the end of January, and everywhere you look, there’s pressure to reinvent yourself overnight. Maybe you were eager to make a change. Set big goals. Start fresh. But if that momentum has already faded—or never really arrived—this blog is for you.
Let’s explore a more intuitive, sustainable way to move through the early part of the year. One that helps you stay connected to your energy and aligned with your inner world, not external expectations.
If you're feeling the pull to slow down instead of speed up, you're not disconnected from reality, you're connected to something deeper.
Your Inner Winter: Moving Toward Alignment
In the Northern Hemisphere, January is deep winter. The earth is resting. Animals are conserving energy. Trees stand bare, gathering strength beneath the surface. And yet, culturally, we’re told this is the time for output, transformation, and momentum.
This contradiction creates internal friction. Many of my clients describe it as guilt, shame, or a sense of falling behind before they’ve even begun.
But what if we paused instead? What if we honoured our inner winter—a season of rest, reflection, and quiet germination?
Vision boards and intention-setting can be powerful, but they don’t need to be created with frantic January energy. A vision board doesn’t have to launch you into action the next day. It can be a creative expression, an embodiment of your year ahead—a seed you’re planting now, trusting it will bloom when it’s ready.
Honouring Spring's Rebirth
Spring doesn’t arrive because we force it. It arrives when the conditions become right. The same is true for you.
As winter transitions to spring, you may naturally feel energy returning. Ideas that were dormant may suddenly feel alive. Movement that felt impossible in January may feel inevitable in March or April.
This isn’t procrastination, it’s attunement.
By honouring your need for rest now, you’re not falling behind. You’re creating the conditions for authentic, sustainable growth.
Trust that your inner wisdom knows when it’s time to rest and when it’s time to move. You don’t need to override that wisdom to prove your worth.
Practical Examples:
- Balance slower movement (short walks, yin yoga) on low-energy days with more intense movement (weights, pilates) when your energy returns.
- Continue the discovery or brainstorming phase of a new project longer than expected, then move into action more naturally.
Vision Boards as Seeds, Not Mandates
When I sat down to create my vision board this year, I felt a heavy sense of dread. How was I supposed to fit all my hopes and dreams onto one board? Did I even have clear goals?
Then I paused. How can I approach this more intuitively?
Instead of forcing clarity, I pulled words and images that honoured what I value in myself, in others, and in the life I’m creating. Hobbies I love. Symbolism of the masculine and feminine parts of myself. It became a reflection of my values, not just a checklist of achievements.
If you’re drawn to create a vision board this season, approach it as an act of intentional living. Let it reflect what wants to emerge, not what you think you should force into being.
Let your vision board be:
- A reflection of your values and passions (not just a to-do list)
- An invitation, not an ultimatum
- A conversation with your future self, not a contract
- An embodiment of what’s important to you, ready to be absorbed organically
Then, give it time. Let it sit with you through the rest of winter. Revisit it as the days grow longer. Notice what still resonates when February 17th arrives and the Horse year begins.
