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Episode 3: The Identity Trap (and the “Work Mask” We Slide Into)

People love to talk about imposter syndrome, but women are dealing with something else too: the identity trap.

In this episode, we break down the difference between:

• Imposter syndrome: doubting your competence even when you are capable
• The identity trap: slowly becoming a version of yourself that “fits” the workplace, even when it costs you

We talk about the masks we learn early, like customer service voice, polite professionalism, and the corporate “tone it down” filter. Then we get real about what happens when those layers stack over time: new environments, higher stakes, more politics, more pressure to manage other people’s comfort. Eventually the mask gets heavy enough that you look up and think, who is this person and when did I start performing my job instead of doing it?

We also go deeper than the workplace. We unpack how childhood conditioning shapes the way women show up, how quickly we learn to be adaptable, and why that adaptability can quietly turn into self erasure. And we talk about the wake up moment most women have at some point: realizing you have become smaller, quieter, more careful, and more exhausted than you have ever been.

Most importantly, we close with what to do when you recognize the identity trap in real time:

• how to tell the difference between professionalism and performance
• how to rebuild your real voice without blowing up your career
• how to make an intentional exit strategy if the environment requires you to be less of yourself to survive

This episode is for the woman who is high performing on paper but feels disconnected from herself in practice.

Listen now and ask yourself one question: Is this mask helping me do the job, or is it costing me my identity?