The Hidden Neuroscience That Explains Why You Do What You Do
- Christoffel Sneijders
- 25 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Most people are not confused about what they want. What I came to realise, long ago, is that what confuses people is something else.
When I ask my clients what they want, they provide a clear answer. Almost none of them are confused about what they want in life, leadership, or their work.
They want to feel calmer, more focused, more confident, more successful, have better relationships, and have a better work-life balance. Furthermore, they want to stop repeating the same behavioural patterns, such as overthinking, procrastination, people-pleasing, pushing themselves too hard, or holding back when it would be time to step forward.
They are clear about that.
What I came to realise, long ago, is that what confuses people is something else.
They are confused and ask: 'Why, despite insight, reflection, journaling, coaching, therapy, training, willpower, discipline, mind hacking, etc., do those patterns still recur? Often precisely in the moments that matter most.'
This is where, after many years of doing my best to find how to assist them in a way that would lead to lasting change, I had a light-bulb moment 8 years ago: 3 Brains Intelligence.
Human beings do not make decisions from a single centre. But people like to think it through, follow their hearts, or listen to their gut feelings.
The great part of all of this: Neuroscience shows that we have 3 distinct intelligences that influence how we think, feel, and act. It is not just a metaphor; it is real science.
The Head Brain is responsible for logic, analysis, understanding, and planning.
The Heart Brain is connected to emotions, values, relationships, and meaning.
The Gut Brain governs instinct, drive, protection, and action.
Each of these brains plays a crucial role in decision-making and behaviour. Each one processes information differently. And each one responds differently under pressure. And, most importantly, each of them has a different strategy to fulfil our needs.
The challenge is that most of us rely primarily on a single one.
Some people live predominantly from the Head Brain. They analyse carefully, seek understanding, and want clarity before acting.
Others are more led by the Heart Brain. They sense what feels right or wrong, tune into relationships, and often prioritise harmony and care.
Others rely more on the Gut Brain. They trust instinct, move quickly, push forward, and act decisively.
None of these brain preferences is wrong.
Problems arise when one brain consistently overrules the others.
A Head-led approach can slide into overthinking, perfectionism, and hesitation. A Heart-led approach can turn into people pleasing, weak boundaries, and self-neglect. A Gut-led approach can result in overcontrol, impatience, or pushing through signals that should not be ignored.
What makes this frustrating is that insight alone rarely creates lasting change.
People often understand their behaviour very well. They can explain it, reflect on it, and even help others recognise similar patterns. Yet under stress, emotional pressure, or high stakes, behaviour tends to revert. This is not a lack of discipline or motivation. It is biology.
The brain that understands or feels a situation is not always the brain that decides.
This is the core theme explored in the book 3 Brains Intelligence: The Hidden Neuroscience That Explains Why You Do What You Do.
Rather than offering another mindset technique or personality model, this book looks at behaviour through a biological and neurological lens. It explains how the Head, Heart, and Gut store experience differently, how emotional memory shapes automatic responses, and why sustainable change requires alignment between all three brains.
When the 3 brains are not aligned, inner conflict is inevitable. One part of you wants clarity, another seeks safety and connection, and a third wants action or protection. When they do not work as a team, behaviour becomes inconsistent, effort increases, and progress feels harder than it should.
Alignment changes that.
When the Head Brain provides clarity, the Heart Brain gives meaning, and the Gut Brain supplies grounded action, decisions feel more coherent. Behaviour becomes more consistent. Change requires less force and more cooperation within the system.
The book does not promise quick fixes. It offers clear language and practical distinctions that help people understand what is actually happening beneath their behaviour. Many examples come from real leadership situations, relationships, coaching conversations, and everyday life, making the patterns immediately recognisable rather than theoretical.
The book is intentionally concise. There is an old saying that a good piece of work should be short enough to create interest and long enough to cover what truly matters. That principle guided my writing.
It is priced at the level of a cup of coffee. Not because the subject is light, but because access should not be the barrier. This is a book meant to be read, reflected on, and returned to, not consumed once and forgotten.
If you are curious about why intelligent, capable people still repeat patterns they understand perfectly well, this book will likely resonate. If you work with others as a coach or leader, or are interested in how to influence people more effectively - that can be your partner, family, kids or friends -, this language can be brought into conversations where insight alone is insufficient.
Sometimes meaningful change begins not with more effort, but with a better understanding of how the human system actually works.
Curious how this shows up in real decisions and everyday behaviour?
The book 3 Brains Intelligence: The Hidden Neuroscience That Explains Why You Do What You Do goes further into the neuroscience behind it.
Are you curious how this manifests in real decisions and everyday behaviour? And how to use them in your client work, you can pre-order it here:
This is the .com link to Amazon US. You can simply replace .com with your own country code.
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