The Grounded Creative: Jessica Dance at the Designers' Urban Retreat
The third session of the Designers' Urban Retreat in October 2024 was an inspiring exploration of creativity & the mind, hosted by the renowned artist, designer, and coach Jessica Dance. Held in the beautifully designed Nordic Design House in Clerkenwell, with the generous support of Roche Bobois, this session empowered participants to reconnect with their creative energy through grounding and holistic practices.
Designers were welcomed into the serene surroundings of Nordic Design House in Gosswell Road, where Jessica shared her journey from burnout to transformation. Her unique framework, combining mindset shifts, somatic awareness, and practical routines, helped attendees rediscover balance and purpose in their work.
Jessica, an accomplished artist, designer, and coach, has collaborated with brands like Christian Louboutin, Vogue, and BMW. However, her journey wasn’t without its challenges. Burnout nearly led her to quit her career, but it also inspired her to develop a holistic framework to nurture creativity. During the retreat, Jessica shared her insights into tackling common creative barriers, such as fear, self-doubt, and perfectionism.
Jessica began her session by emphasising the importance of aligning the mind, body, and creative spirit - a foundation for thriving creativity. She explained how fear and limiting beliefs often act as barriers, blocking confidence and disrupting creative flow. When individuals are well-rested, grounded, and trust themselves, creativity flourishes. Through her holistic approach, Jessica introduced a combination of mindset shifts, somatic practices, and practical routines designed to help participants reclaim their creative confidence. These tools not only address mental blocks but also help reduce physical stress, enabling designers to overcome exhaustion and sustain their energy for long-term creative success.
The Power of Your Thoughts
Jessica highlighted the pivotal role of thoughts in shaping our feelings, actions, and overall outcomes. She explained that while thoughts are not facts, they strongly influence how we perceive and respond to the world. The brain, often running on autopilot, defaults to recycling patterns, many of which are negative or limiting. This tendency can keep us "playing small" unless we actively intervene. Jessica encouraged participants to build awareness around their thinking and consciously choose thoughts that empower rather than hinder. By improving the quality of their thoughts, creatives can profoundly impact both their lives and their work.
The Model
Jessica introduced The Model, a tool to help participants break down the connection between thoughts, feelings, and results. The process begins with a neutral Circumstance (a fact outside of one’s control). The brain assigns meaning to this through a Thought, which then creates a Feeling - a physical response to that thought. This feeling drives Actions or inactions, which ultimately lead to a Result that reflects the original thought.
For example:
Circumstance: Presenting a design to a team.
Negative Thought: “Everyone will hate it.”
Feeling: Anxiety.
Action: Avoid preparation, self-judgment, or overthinking.
Result: A lacklustre presentation, reinforcing the original thought.
By choosing a positive thought, such as “I’m excited to share my progress,” people can shift their feelings to excitement, their actions to thorough preparation, and their results to impactful presentations. This simple yet profound framework empowers professionals to regain control of their mindset and outcomes.
Overcoming Fear of Judgment
A significant portion of the session focused on addressing the fear of judgment, which Jessica identified as a major creative barrier. She emphasized that perfectionism isn't truly about striving for excellence, it's a manifestation of fear. When creatives become trapped in perfectionism, they're not actually pursuing their best work; they're responding to a deep-seated fear of judgment. Jessica encouraged participants to "have their own back" by recognising that their fear isn't about others' opinions, but rather about the meaning they attach to those judgments. She introduced the concept of "Permission to Create Imperfectly," explaining that creativity flourishes when we release ourselves from the burden of judgment. Through playful exercises, participants learned that their most innovative ideas emerge when they step out of "fight or flight" mode and embrace imperfection as part of the creative process.
In understanding fear's impact on our well-being, Jessica's holistic approach emphasises how fear manifests both mentally and physically. When we experience fear and stress, it can lead to physical symptoms that, if ignored, may result in burnout - something Jessica herself experienced in her career. Her framework includes somatic practices and practical routines designed to help reduce physical stress and overcome exhaustion. Through grounding exercises like the body scan technique, individuals can reconnect with their body, identify areas of tension, and use conscious breathing to release stress, ultimately helping them maintain their creative energy and prevent burnout.
These practical tools and mindset shifts shared during the session empowered participants to navigate creative challenges with greater resilience and self-awareness. By integrating Jessica's holistic approach, designers can learn to honour both their creative process and their well-being. The session concluded with participants feeling equipped to maintain sustainable creative practices while nurturing their mental and physical health.
Special thanks to Jessica for sharing her invaluable insights and transformative framework with our design community. Her authentic approach to creativity and well-being resonated deeply with all participants. We are also grateful to Magdalena Tym and the Nordic Design House team for providing such a beautiful and inspiring space for this session. Their warm hospitality and the serene atmosphere of their Clerkenwell showroom created the perfect environment for reflection and learning.
