In this conversation, host Igor Rafalovich explores how self-sabotage, overwhelm, and survival-brain responses silently hinder even the most talented designers and architects. Janine breaks down the mindset patterns that drain performance, the neuroscience behind the negativity bias, and the Positive Intelligence framework she uses to help creative professionals operate with clarity, confidence, and emotional resilience.

When people ask me what separates firms that survive from the ones that thrive, they expect me to talk about systems, sales, or beautiful work. Those matter. But frankly, the single biggest lever I see is inside the individuals: mindset, self-mastery, and the soft skills that actually make the rest of the firm run well.

Change is good. You’ve probably heard that before. Sometimes it’s what we tell ourselves when we don’t believe it. Change is difficult for the human brain—it wants certainty, routine, predictability. Our “survival brain” would keep us stuck. Lying to us that change is bad, making us fearful  and grasping onto what is at any cost. That fear makes us slip into our
old sabotaging patterns.

Inflation. Lay offs. Viruses. This is all “bad,” right? Well…that depends on which part of your brain is running the show. Humans are wired for a negativity bias as a matter of survival. That voice is loud and fearful. We also have a quieter, positive voice that knows any outcome or situation can be turned into a gift or opportunity.

In design and construction, you may be hearing about or even feeling a slowdown. Just typing that my gut constricts and my mind starts conjuring scenarios of gloom and doom. But wait! We are not responsible for our first thought, but we are for the second, third, and so on.

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Let’s be honest. Somewhere along the way, busy became a badge of honor and burnout got normalized. This is not the path of ease and flow; it’s the path of stress and burnout. It’s the lies of the saboteurs—the voices of the inner critic, controller or pleaser to name a few, that create all our stress. In a complex business like interior design, architecture or construction, it’s tempting to believe the lies and to hop on the crazy train of reactivity, urgency, blame and dare I say, drama. That’s a surefire recipe for stress, anxiety and burnout. Sound familiar? Read on.

Our true essence of love, empathy, creativity and curiosity gets drowned out by shoulds, doubt, shame, judgment, fear, numbness, anxiety, and so on. While we might get some results from this place, it ultimately keeps us from performing at our best with lasting happiness and peace in our hearts.

Our emotional state has the power to destroy or nurture—performance, relationships, happiness—thanks to our miraculous neurobiology and the wonders of energetic principles. Stress, anxiety, numbness and drama (your Saboteur’s currency) are all contagious. So are peace, calm, creativity and empathy (your Sage’s powers). Where are you hanging out?

Our society values achievement, applauds competition and rewards performance. Unfortunately many of us depend on constant performance and achievement for self-respect and self-validation. That’s the hungry monster. This post discusses what to do about it.

Those with the Controller have a lot of great traits--confident, action-oriented, persistent, decisive. Yay! Taken to an extreme, however, the impact is not good--high anxiety, lack of connection, and temporary results at the price of resentment from others. In a creative field like interior design, this one is common and it's a killer. Our Saboteurs over-use and abuse our greatest strengths, impacting our performance, our relationships and our happiness.

With seventeen years in the interior design business, I know firsthand the joys and challenges of running a thriving firm. Design, architecture and construction is a complex business with countless moving parts; many of which are out of your control, and can lead to stress, lost creativity, and disconnect from your vision and the joy of creating. Add to that our own personal patterns that get in the way and, Houston, we have a problem.