Author: Tomasz Drybala
Tomasz Drybala - Author, Researcher, Coach, and Director of the Neuro-Based Leadership Centre.
My work is grounded in lived experience, research, and ongoing studies with more than 100 CEOs and senior executives — examining how dopamine–cortisol dynamics influence decision-making, execution, and recovery under pressure.
My academic development now includes targeted programs at Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, and the University of California, Berkeley. I am pursuing a Master’s and — fingers crossed — a PhD in Applied Neuroscience, specialising in decision-making.
I’m also the author of three forthcoming books exploring the neurochemistry of leadership, including Breaking Patterns (September 2026), Neuroscience of CEO Decision-Making (January 2027), and Choosing the Right People (March 2027).
Listening Beyond Thought: Intuition and the Body as Expanded Decision-Making Intelligence
Expanding the Way We Make Decisions For most of my life, I believed decision-making was primarily a cognitive act. You gather information, analyse options, evaluate risks, and then choose the most rational path forward. That approach works—up to a point. But over time, I noticed something important: the […]
When Presence Meets Presence: Energy Recognising Itself Between Two Secure People
There is a pattern I have seen repeatedly in relational dynamics, and it became most visible to me recently. As I intentionally opened myself to building a romantic relationship, a familiar pattern kept repeating. I would meet women where the initial alignment felt real and mutual. There was […]
When the Body Finds Its Natural Rhythm: Somatic Intelligence, with Human Design as Language
Most people live according to rhythms they did not choose. Schedules, expectations, deadlines, routines — all imposed from the outside and reinforced until they feel normal. Because of this, the idea that the body might have its own rhythm often sounds abstract. Something vague, poetic, or impractical. But […]
Somatic Intelligence and Internal Alignment: When What Is Felt Finds Its Source
Staying With a Connection Before It Has a Name In my previous article about my experiences with somatic intelligence, I wrote about a connection that was present in my body before it had any name. It did not arrive as emotion, intuition, or insight, and it did not […]
Emotional Control and Emotional Space: The Invisible Forces That Shape Intimacy
Emotional control and emotional space describe two distinct relational experiences. Emotional control develops when one person, intentionally or not, shapes the emotional environment in ways that lead the other to adjust their behaviour, choices, or communication in order to maintain closeness. Emotional space, in contrast, is rooted in […]
When the Body Knows First: Somatic Intelligence in Real Experience
In the previous article, The Intelligence of Connection: Staying With What Is Felt Before It Is Defined, I described Somatic Intelligence as a form of knowing that operates beneath cognition. A capacity of the body to register, organise, and respond to reality before meaning, narrative, or explanation appear. […]
The Intelligence of Connection: Staying With What Is Felt Before It Is Defined
When Connection Is Felt Before It Can Be Explained Most people associate connection with something external. A person. A role. A shared direction. A moment that points clearly toward action or meaning. Because of that, when a connection is felt without an obvious object, it often goes unnoticed […]
The Neurobiology of Relational Regression: Why The Nervous System Returns To Familiarity To Relieve Uncertainty
There is a pattern that appears quietly in many relational histories, and it is almost always misunderstood. It does not look dramatic. It does not announce itself as fear, avoidance, or self-sabotage. Instead, it feels like a subtle internal contradiction where clarity dissolves just as something new begins […]
Trusting Yourself First: The Hidden Discipline Behind Emotionally Healthy Relationships
There is a recurring dynamic that many high-functioning individuals encounter in modern relationships, and it is rarely articulated with precision. Two adults meet. There is mutual interest, intellectual compatibility, and no obvious red flags. The interaction is civil, respectful, and emotionally contained. Yet instead of moving into clear, […]
The Neurobiology of Idealisation: How the Mind Builds Connection Before Reality Arrives
The Hidden Logic of Idealisation Idealisation in romantic relationships rarely begins with obvious distortion. It begins with a feeling that something meaningful is happening. Someone appears in your life and, without much evidence, your internal world starts to reorganise around them. Their messages feel more important than they […]