By: Victoria Sinclair
Women are often told to trust their intuition. Yet for many, self-doubt can feel louder than inner knowing, especially during seasons of change, uncertainty, or growth. What if trusting yourself isn’t simply about confidence, but it’s also rooted in biology?
Neuroscience expert and author Stefanie Faye is the founder of Mindset Neuroscience. She believes our relationship with ourselves is shaped as much by the nervous system as it is by our thoughts. Through her education and training company, she helps coaches, leaders, and professionals understand the science behind human transformation, showing how neuroscience can deepen self-awareness and strengthen the way people relate to themselves and others.
Faye is the author of Biomechanics of Human Communication: Neurophysiology and Regulation, published by De Gruyter, and has spent nearly two decades helping executives, educators, and organizations better understand the science behind communication and human transformation.
Her work has reached organizations including MIT, Google, the FBI, Stanford University, Northwestern University, the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, and Alberta Children’s Hospital. Through her new Teach the Nervous System micro-course, she is making that neuroscience education more accessible to coaches, leaders, and professionals.
In this conversation, Faye shares how understanding the nervous system can help women move beyond self-doubt, better understand their own responses, and build greater trust in themselves.
Q: So many women have learned to question themselves. Why is it often easier to trust everyone else’s opinion before our own?
Stefanie Faye: Many people are taught to think of self-trust as a matter of confidence or willpower. I approach the question differently by exploring how the nervous system shapes perception, learning, and the way people respond to the world around them. Understanding those biological processes can help women replace self-judgment with curiosity and begin viewing their responses as information rather than evidence that something is wrong.
Q: We often hear phrases like “trust your intuition” or “listen to your inner wisdom.” Does neuroscience help explain what those experiences actually are?
Stefanie Faye: I believe neuroscience offers a framework for understanding that human beings are constantly processing information beyond conscious awareness. Rather than separating science from intuition, I see the two working together to help us better understand ourselves. It’s an approach I’ve spent nearly two decades sharing with executives, educators, and organizations through Mindset Neuroscience. By translating complex neuroscience into practical lessons, I hope people walk away not just with new information but with a deeper understanding of themselves.
Q: You often say soft skills aren’t ‘soft.’ What do you hope people understand about that?
Stefanie Faye: Soft skills aren’t ‘soft.’ They’re brain science. The better the helpers and leaders of the world understand this, the more they will be able to attract audiences and projects to their expertise. When we understand the science behind communication and human behavior, we can explain our work with greater clarity and help others understand why transformation happens. That builds greater credibility and trust along the way.
That philosophy became the foundation for my book, Biomechanics of Human Communication: Neurophysiology and Regulation, which explores the relationship between neurophysiology, communication, and regulation. I believe meaningful work isn’t always overlooked because it lacks value. Often, people simply aren’t in a nervous system state where they can fully receive it. Understanding that changes the way we communicate, teach, and lead.
Q: Many women believe resilience means staying calm no matter what life brings. You’ve challenged that idea. Why?
Stefanie Faye: Don’t seek calm, seek range. A nervous system isn’t designed to hold one steady, static state. It’s designed to move, respond, and adapt to what matters. The goal isn’t to stay calm, but to widen the band of states you can move through and recover from. For me, resilience isn’t measured by how rarely we’re challenged. It’s reflected in how the nervous system learns to respond, recover, and adapt over time. I hope this perspective encourages people to view difficult moments differently. Rather than seeing discomfort as something to avoid, I see it as part of the process of learning and expanding resilience.
Q: For someone who wants to better understand themselves, where is a good place to begin?
Stefanie Faye: I believe real understanding begins with curiosity rather than self-judgment. I designed Teach the Nervous System after years of watching skilled coaches, leaders, and professionals struggle to explain the transformation they were creating, not because their work lacked value, but because they had never been taught the neuroscience behind it.
The self-paced micro-course introduces the foundational concepts I’ve spent nearly two decades teaching in organizations and professional development programs, giving participants a practical starting point for understanding both themselves and the people they serve. I hope participants leave with a deeper understanding of themselves and greater confidence in the science behind the transformation they create.
Continuing the Journey
Faye was recognized as one of Grit Daily’s “Visionary Women Changing the World in 2025,” syndicated on Apple News. She is also a TEDx speaker, Talks@Google presenter, and serves on MIT’s Global Humanities Initiative in partnership with the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA).
For those interested in exploring these ideas further, Faye’s Teach the Nervous System micro-course offers an introduction to the neuroscience behind human transformation.
Additional information about Mindset Neuroscience, including educational resources and videos, is available at stefaniefaye.com and on Faye’s YouTube channel.
