Think about the difference between intending to do something and actually doing it. You can think, "I'm going to start a business." You can make the plan. You can even put the first three steps on your calendar, but there's still a gap between, "I'm going to do this," and actually making the phone call, sending the email, signing up, or taking that first step.
Welcome to RenewHer, a podcast for women over 50 ready to reignite their energy and explore what's next. I'm Genell Lemley, brain fitness coach. Here, you'll hear real stories from women taking on new challenges after 50, along with brain health tips to boost focus, energy, and the mindset to move forward with confidence.
Let's dive into today's episode.
Hey there, and welcome back. Have you ever had a moment when you knew you were ready to make a change? Maybe you'd been thinking about it for months, maybe even years. Leaving a career, starting a business, moving somewhere new, taking on a physical challenge, going back to school, ending something that no longer felt right.
You may have thought about it. You may have thought about it over and over. You may have talked yourself into it, and then talked yourself right back out of it. And then something happens. You make a decision. You say, "I'm going to do this." And suddenly you're no longer thinking about making a change, you're taking the leap.
But what actually happens in your brain in that moment? That's what I want to explore today. Two weeks ago in episode 44, we talked about why your brain resists change in the first place. In my last episode, we looked at what happens in your brain when you introduce something new, how novelty engages your brain, supports learning, and gives you an opportunity to practice being a beginner.
Today, I want to look at what happens when you've made a decision to change something in your life and you're ready to act on it. Because there's a big difference between thinking about change and deciding to do something about it.
And if you've ever wondered why you can know you want something different and still have a hard time taking that first step, your brain has something to do with it. Taking a major leap isn't controlled by one part of your brain. It's more like a conversation among several systems. And I want to use the brain systems I learned through Dr. Daniel Amen's work to walk you through what that conversation might look like.
Let's start with the limbic system. The limbic system is involved in emotion and motivation. And when you're considering a change, this is where some of the deeper questions come into play. Do I really want this? Does this matter to me? What might make this possible?
Think about a woman who has spent twenty-five years in a corporate career. On paper, she has a good job, she has the title, she has the salary, she has the security. But something inside her is saying, "I want something different." Maybe she wants to start her own business. Maybe she wants to do work that feels more meaningful. Maybe she wants more freedom. That desire matters because we don't make major life changes based on logic alone. There is usually something we want, something we value, or something we feel deeply motivated to pursue. And that's where the emotional and reward systems of the brain come into the conversation.
Then we bring in the prefrontal cortex, or PFC. I like to think of the PFC as the part of the conversation that says, "Okay, let's think this through." It's involved in what we often think as our higher level thinking-- planning, weighing options, considering consequences, making decisions, and thinking about the future.
So when you're contemplating a big change, your PFC helps you move beyond, "I want this," and start thinking about what it would actually take to make it happen The questions become, what are my options? What could happen if I do this? What could happen if I don't? What are the risks? What resources do I have? And how could I actually make this happen? And perhaps one of the most important questions, what is my next step?
Your PFC also allows you to think beyond the immediate moment. You can imagine a future that looks different from your present and then begin working backward to figure out what it might take to get there.
This is where desire starts becoming a plan. And that's important because you can want something very badly and have a detailed plan for how to do it and still not take action. At some point, the brain has to move from planning the change to initiating action, and that's where the basal ganglia become part of the conversation.
The basal ganglia are involved in motivation, reward learning, habits, and selecting and initiating actions. Think about the difference between intending to do something and actually doing it. You can think, "I'm going to start a business." You can make the plan. You can even put the first three steps on your calendar, but there's still a gap between I'm going to do this and actually making the phone call, sending the email, signing up, or taking that first step.
The basal ganglia are part of the brain's circuitry involved in helping us select and initiate actions, particularly when those actions are connected to goals, rewards, or things we've learned to associate with a positive outcome. And this is one reason motivation and action are so closely connected.
The brain is constantly evaluating, is this worth doing? When the anticipated reward or value is strong enough, that can help tip the balance toward action. And once you begin taking action, those behaviors can become more familiar and eventually more automatic through repetition.
So this is the point in our conversation where we move from I want this to I've thought this through to I'm going to do something about it. And sometimes that something is very small. You make the phone call. You register for the class. You sign up for the race. You send the proposal. You take the first step. The leap doesn't always look like a dramatic leap. Sometimes it's one small action that makes the change real.
And then something interesting happens. You discover that taking the first step is only the beginning. Because once you take the leap, reality enters the picture, and reality rarely follows the plan exactly.
This is where the anterior cingulate gyrus, or ACG, becomes especially interesting. In Dr. Amen's framework, the ACG is often described as the brain's gear shifter. It's involved in shifting attention, detecting errors or conflicts, considering alternatives, and adjusting when things aren't working the way we expected.
And that matters enormously when you're making a significant change. Because what happens when the business doesn't take off as quickly as you expected? What happens when the training gets harder than you thought? What happens when the new job isn't what you imagined? What happens when you move to a new city and suddenly feel lonely? What happens when your carefully thought out plan hits a roadblock?
You have a choice. You can get stuck, or you can ask, "What do I need to change?" Maybe the goal is still right, but the strategy needs to change. Maybe you need more information. Maybe you need help. Or maybe you realize that what you thought you wanted isn't actually what you want. That's an important distinction.
Taking the leap doesn't mean you have to stay on the exact path you started on. Once you've acted, your brain can compare what actually happened with what you expected and use that information to help determine what comes next.
And sometimes that information tells you, "Keep going," and sometimes it tells you, "Change direction." That's not failure. That's adaptation. You're not abandoning the decision you made. You're responding to what you've learned. And I think this is one of the most important things to understand about making a change.
We often imagine that confident people take the leap because they're certain it will work. But I'm not sure that's how it works. Maybe taking the leap isn't about certainty. Maybe it's about having enough clarity to take the next step.
You don't have to know exactly how everything is going to turn out. You don't have to eliminate every risk. And you don't have to feel completely confident before you begin because you don't have to know exactly how everything is going to turn out before you begin. You can make a decision, take a step, see what you learn, and let that information help you decide what comes next, and take the next step.
That's very different from needing to know the entire path before you begin. So if you're thinking about making a change right now, I want you to consider something. What is that change you've been thinking about? And what is keeping you from taking the first step?
Is it lack of information? Is it uncertainty? Is it fear? Are you waiting to feel more confident? Or perhaps your brain is simply doing what brains do, favoring what is familiar and predictable.
Remember what we talked about in episode forty-four? Your brain tends to prefer familiarity. And now you know something else. When you decide to take the leap, multiple brain systems get involved in helping you move from desire to evaluation to action and ultimately adaptation.
You don't need to know exactly how the story ends. You need to decide whether the next step is worth taking. And then take it.
Because sometimes the biggest change doesn't begin with a giant leap, it begins with one small decision: I'm ready to see what's possible.
Until next time, stay curious, stay open, and keep exploring what's possible
Thank you for joining me for this episode of RenewHer. If today's conversation sparked something in you, don't let it fade. Take even a small step toward what's next. If you found value in what you heard, please subscribe, leave a review, or share this podcast with a woman who's ready to take her next bold step.
Together, we're building a community of strong, resilient women, navigating what's next with courage and purpose. Until next time, stay energized and keep embracing what's possible