When Systems Are Designed to Fail You
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When Systems Are Designed to Fail You
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About this listen
You don’t feel stuck because you lack discipline. You feel stuck because you’re operating inside systems you didn’t design.
In this episode of Experience Systems, Steph Fitzgerald explores the story of Hansel and Gretel—not as a fairytale about temptation, but as a system designed for attraction, boundary failure, and capture.
What happens when environments are built to make certain behaviors feel inevitable? And what does that mean when we start blaming ourselves for the outcomes?
From junk food engineered for engagement, to video games designed for replay, to digital systems that remove natural stopping points—this episode examines how modern environments don’t just influence behavior, they shape identity.
Because once you see the system… the question changes.
Are you holding yourself responsible for an outcome the system was designed to create?
Design the system. Understand the experience.