The Motivational Triad

Why your brain resists change (even when you want it)

By Adri Geyer

“Your brain isn’t broken. It’s just doing its job, keeping you safe, comfortable and energy-efficient. But comfort doesn’t create growth.”

Let me tell you something I see all the time in coaching:

People come to me thinking they have a time problem, a money problem or an exhaustion problem.

But once we start unpacking it, it’s never really about time or money or energy. It’s about the brain, more specifically, a brain that’s simply doing what it was designed to do.

• Avoid pain.
• Seek pleasure.
• Conserve energy.

That’s what we call the Motivational Triad, your primitive survival code. It’s the reason you procrastinate, overthink, overwork or over-scroll. It’s also why real growth feels so uncomfortable… because to your brain, discomfort = danger.

But here’s the truth: your brain isn’t the enemy.

It’s just outdated software running an old program.

And we can absolutely retrain it.

The three drivers of the primitive brain

• Avoid Pain

Your brain’s top priority is to keep you alive, not necessarily fulfilled.

So it’s constantly scanning for threats, problems or anything that might cause emotional or physical pain.

Which means it will resist anything that feels new, uncertain or hard, even the things that would change your life for the better.

Starting your own business? Pain.

Raising your prices? Pain.

Saying no to a client? Definitely pain.

Your primitive brain doesn’t know the difference between emotional discomfort and actual danger.

It just says: “Don’t do that.”

But here’s the thing, growth is uncomfortable.

And if you can learn to lean into that discomfort, instead of running from it, you unlock a whole new level of freedom. 

• Seek Pleasure

Then we’ve got pleasure. Your brain loves a quick dopamine hit, the instant gratification that feels good right now.

That’s why it’s so easy to scroll, snack or say yes when you really want to say no. It feels good in the moment and then it leaves you feeling guilty, tired or stuck later. 

Short-term pleasure often leads to long-term pain.

And the more you chase those instant rewards, the smaller your capacity becomes to feel deep, lasting fulfillment.

The work is learning how to delay gratification, not as punishment, but as power. That’s where true satisfaction lives. 

• Conserve Energy

And then there’s energy.

Your brain is wired to save it because, way back when, that meant survival. 

But in today’s world, that same instinct looks like procrastination, hesitation and avoidance.

You know those thoughts?

“Let’s do it later.”

“Let’s think about it more.”

“Let’s wait until I feel ready.”

That’s not laziness, that’s neural efficiency.

Your brain loves patterns and habits because they cost less energy.

But if you never override this instinct, you’ll keep waiting for the perfect moment that never comes.

Growth takes energy and you can train your brain to spend it wisely. 

The conflict between your two brains

Here’s the part most people never realise:

You actually have two brains running your life.

• The Primitive Brain — focused on survival, emotion and short-term relief.
• The Prefrontal Cortex — focused on planning, logic and long-term purpose.

Your primitive brain wants safety.

Your prefrontal brain wants meaning.

Coaching isn’t about “trying harder.” It’s about learning how to let your prefrontal brain lead with awareness, strategy and intention.

When you think on purpose, you start choosing growth over comfort, not because it’s easy, but because it’s aligned.

The coaching solution: from survival to creation

When you coach your mind, you’re literally rewiring your brain.

You start catching your primitive thoughts before they hijack your progress.

You begin to shift your self-talk:

“This is too hard.” → “Hard doesn’t mean wrong.”

“I’ll do it later.” → “My future self will thank me for doing it now.”

“What if I fail?” → “Failing forward is how I evolve.”

This is neuroplasticity in action, your brain’s ability to change through repetition and awareness.

Over time, you stop reacting from fear and start responding from purpose. That’s when everything begins to shift.

Why this matters

When you don’t understand how your brain works, it’s easy to make it mean something personal:

“I’m lazy.”

“I’m unmotivated.”

“I’m inconsistent.”

But that’s not true, it’s not a character flaw.

It’s just your brain running on its old operating system.

Inside Bring Balance to Life, I teach you how to work with your brain instead of against it, so you can create sustainable success in your time, your income and your energy without constantly burning out.

In the Feel Better and Capacity pillars inside Bring Balance to Life, you’ll learn to:

• Recognise primitive brain patterns that drain your focus and energy,
• Activate your prefrontal brain to plan and lead with calm clarity,
• Reframe discomfort as a necessary part of growth, and
• Build emotional capacity to handle anything, without tipping into burnout.

You’ll stop being driven by instinct and start leading with intention.

When you understand your brain, you stop fighting it and start mastering it.

Book your consultation today and join Bring Balance to Life  the 12-month neuroscience-based coaching program that helps you work less, earn more, and feel better by retraining the very organ that runs your life.

Because once you learn how to manage your brain, everything in your life changes.

Why your brain resists the very change you want

Your primitive brain runs on one ancient survival code:

Avoid Pain. Seek Pleasure. Conserve Energy.

It’s not lazy — it’s efficient.

It’s just 100,000 years behind schedule. 

Train your prefrontal brain, your logical, strategic, purpose-driven self to lead.

That’s what we do in Bring Balance to Life  we help you manage your mind, override primitive impulses and operate from purpose, not fear.

Work less.

Earn more.

Feel better.

Join Bring Balance to Life and learn how to use your brain on purpose.