Neurologist Emily McDonald believes the brain can nudge people away from pursuing the careers they really want, but says there is a straightforward way to push back against it.
The human brain is widely regarded as the body’s most intricate organ, with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders highlighting just how much it handles every second.
It contains roughly 86 billion neurons, and each of those can form thousands of links, helping control memory, movement, thought, and how we interpret the world around us.
McDonald says one brain system in particular may help explain why so many people hesitate when it comes to going after a dream job: the default mode network, also known as the DMN.
Speaking on the Jay Shetty Podcast, she described how that system influences the way people naturally think and behave.
“So the default mode network is really appropriately named because it kind of helps to regulate and propel our default mode of behavior,” she outlined, while appearing as a guest on the Jay Shetty Podcast.
The neurologist went on to explain how the network is tied not only to habits, but also to identity and self-perception. The DMN becomes active during introspective activities such as daydreaming, contemplating the past or future, and thinking about one’s own perspective, and plays a critical role in self-referential processing and the construction of personal identity.
“It’s responsible for our default mode of being and doing. But it’s also responsible for our sense of self and constructing the narrative or the story of our lives.
“And so if your sense of self doesn’t match, if your identity doesn’t match whatever it is that you’re trying to do, then your default mode network is not really going to be helping you do the behaviors or take the action toward doing starting a podcast.”
Her advice for overcoming that mismatch is what she calls an ‘identity shift’.
“Just like shift your identity,” she added.
“You can just start to identify as the version of you who has done the thing.
“You have to act like you already have it or like you already are it in order to do it or be it.”
McDonald also said that identity is only one part of the problem, and that fear often plays an equally powerful role in keeping people from moving forward. Research shows that fear-related brain activity can interfere with goal-directed motivation, with studies indicating that procrastinators may have larger amygdalas—the brain’s fear and emotion center—than those who readily pursue their goals.
“So the second reason why most people procrastinate is fear. A lot of times we are actually subconsciously afraid of success and I think this is a big reason why a lot of people stay stuck, is that we are actually subconsciously afraid of what it might look like if we succeed at doing it.”
Fear of success is distinct from fear of failure. While failure anxiety concerns negative outcomes, fear of success involves concerns about what achieving the goal will mean—including new expectations, increased visibility, pressure to maintain performance, and disruption of one’s comfort zone.
She argued that taking bold chances is often necessary if people want to create the life or career they have in mind.
“It’s really a requirement to achieving or receiving or having whatever it is that we want,” she noted.
Her comments come as research suggests most Americans are not working in the role they once imagined for themselves.
A JobSage study found that only 7 to 10 percent of people in the US say they are currently in their dream job, leaving the vast majority in careers that fall short of that ambition.
The same research found that just 47 percent of respondents saw their dream career as realistic under current economic conditions.
Recent trends in Americans’ dream jobs show significant shifts. According to a 2026 analysis of Google search data, DJ became the United States’ most coveted dream job, jumping from ninth place in 2024. Globally, the most aspired-to careers include actor, pilot, firefighter, lawyer, and YouTuber—reflecting broader changes in the job market, including the rise of the creator economy and demand for purpose-driven work.
Data from Stand Out CV indicates that many of the most common jobs in the US are concentrated in retail, sales, and food service.
Separate findings from The Global Recruiter suggest that the careers Americans most aspire to can differ significantly depending on age.
Ages 18-24
Ages 25-34
Ages 35-44