Head Heart Core
Combine facts, feelings, and desires to reveal the full truth of a decision.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 99%
Head Heart Core is a three-part decision exercise that gathers factual, emotional, and desire-based truth. The head records verifiable facts such as money, time, data, and constraints. The heart records the person's emotional reality, including affection, fulfillment, anxiety, or resistance. The core identifies what the person wants beneath obligation and external expectations. Each category is allowed to remain true without forcing one to defeat the others. Reviewing all three together often reveals a clear answer, even when they do not align. The method converts intuition from a vague feeling into a structured inquiry that analytical people can use. It also feeds the Three C's sequence: the exercise produces clarity, clarity supports confidence, and confidence makes decisive communication and action easier.
Origin
Erin Weed presents Head Heart Core in her TED talk and teaches it to audiences ranging from fifth graders to organizational teams as a simple way to gather the full truth.
Core principles
- 01Every decision contains factual, emotional, and desire-based truths.
- 02One truth does not need to invalidate another.
- 03Writing each truth separately reduces internal argument.
- 04The final answer can be clear even when the three truths do not align.
- 05Full-truth decisions create clarity that supports confident action.
How to run it
- 1
State the decision
Write one clear question describing the choice that is troubling you. Keep it specific enough that a decision or next action could follow.
Pro tip Use a binary question when possible, such as whether to accept an offer or move.
Watch out A vague problem statement will produce vague observations.
- 2
List the head truths
Record what is factually true, including numbers, time requirements, contractual details, evidence, and practical constraints. Separate known facts from predictions.
Pro tip Label assumptions explicitly so they are not mistaken for data.
Watch out Do not let a spreadsheet silently encode emotional preferences as facts.
- 3
List the heart truths
Write what you feel about the people, work, risks, and possible outcomes. Allow conflicting emotions to appear without trying to justify them.
Pro tip Use specific feeling words instead of broad judgments such as good or bad.
Watch out Do not treat emotions as weaknesses or inconvenient noise.
- 4
Name the core desire
Write what you genuinely want, apart from what seems prestigious, profitable, expected, or conventional. Identify the desired condition beneath the surface option.
Pro tip Ask whether you want the opportunity itself or a quality such as freedom, impact, security, or spaciousness.
Watch out A stated desire can reflect social pressure unless examined honestly.
- 5
Hold all three truths
Review the head, heart, and core together without declaring that one category must win. Let each statement remain valid even when the categories conflict.
Pro tip Read each list aloud to hear where your language becomes especially certain or resistant.
Watch out Do not manipulate a category to manufacture unanimous alignment.
- 6
Identify and act on the answer
Notice the choice or next step that becomes clear from the complete picture. Translate that clarity into a decision, boundary, conversation, or experiment.
Pro tip If the final decision is still unclear, identify the missing fact rather than endlessly rewriting the lists.
Watch out Clarity may reveal an answer you dislike; discomfort does not make it unclear.
In the wild
Erin considered a bigger position with an organization she adored. Her head recognized favorable money, time, and tangible factors, while her heart affirmed that she loved the client and found the work fulfilling. Her core nevertheless wanted more spaciousness because other major things were happening, so she concluded that it was not the right time.
→ She honored the favorable facts and feelings while declining an opportunity that conflicted with her central desire.
A founder writes the costs, commute, and runway under head; excitement and anxiety under heart; and a desire for community and creative space under core. The exercise reveals that the desired qualities matter more than the specific city initially under consideration.
→ The founder reframes the decision and evaluates locations against the complete set of truths.
Common mistakes
Making one category the winner
The goal is not to prove that logic, emotion, or desire is superior; it is to see what becomes clear when all three are acknowledged.
Disguising assumptions as facts
Predictions about future success or failure should not be placed in the head category as though they are verified data.
Writing what you should want
A socially approved desire obscures the core truth and can lead to an apparently sensible but misaligned decision.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for business, career, relationship, and life decisions that involve both objective constraints and subjective priorities.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal as a replacement for expert analysis in decisions governed by legal, medical, safety, or fiduciary requirements.
From the transcript
“So basically I believe there are three truths operating all the time.”
“So when you put together what you know to be factually true, what you feel to be true and what you want. All of a…”
“If you write down the facts about it, the feelings about it and what you want, and don't overthink the whole thing. Just let it…”
From the episode
How to Gain Unshakable Confidence Through Clarity ft. Erin Weed
Erin Weed