🤫 The Silent Career Killer #20

When your UX ego gets in the way | Unmasking 50 hidden threats to your UX career | part 20 of 50

There's a moment we've all experienced—

You're presenting your carefully crafted design - the one you've poured your heart and expertise into for weeks.

You've anticipated the problems.

You've done the research.

You've iterated based on user needs.

Then someone says, "I don't think this works."

And something inside you... shifts.

Your heart beats faster.

Your shoulders tense.

A warm flush rises to your face.

And before you know it, you're explaining, justifying, defending - or worse, dismissing their perspective entirely.

Has this ever happened to you?

The Hidden Career Blocker Nobody Talks About

I've mentored hundreds of talented UX designers over the years, and I've noticed something striking: the designers who struggle to advance aren't necessarily those with weaker portfolios or less expertise.

They're often the ones who can't separate their identity from their work.

The ones who treat every piece of feedback as a personal attack rather than valuable data.

The ones who respond with emotion instead of curiosity.

And it's costing them - not just projects and influence, but entire career trajectories.

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Why We Get Defensive (Even When We Know Better)

Let's be honest about what's really happening when we respond defensively:

😩 We mistake our designs for our worth.

When we pour ourselves into solving a problem, the line between our professional output and our personal value can blur. The design becomes an extension of our identity.

😩 We confuse expertise with infallibility.

The more experienced we become, the more we expect ourselves to get things right the first time. Feedback feels like evidence that we've fallen short of our own expectations.