Impostor syndrome doesn’t come from nowhere — and it’s rarely about what just happened.

In this episode, Joe breaks down why your strongest self-doubt reactions often have very little to do with the moment you’re in — and everything to do with patterns formed long before your career even started.

You’ll learn how to recognize when fear is being triggered by the past, how to interrupt the panic spiral in real time, and why the goal isn’t to eliminate impostor syndrome — but to manage it. To remove its hands from the wheel and put yourself back in the driver's seat.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Why am I reacting this way?” ...this episode is for you.

If this episode resonated, consider subscribing to Making UX Work.

Each episode explores the human side of UX and product careers — confidence, power, impostor syndrome, boundaries and the challenges that never show up in books or conference talks.

No hype. No platitudes. Just honest perspective, earned the hard way.