Yeah exactly people do the same thing. There's good evidence that for the most part, our actions are driven by our "non-sentient" mind, and our sentient brain just decides justifications to explain a cohesive story as it goes along after it happens.

"Why did you do that?" -> attempt to make up an answer that will be believable both to self-identity and to the listener.

So what's the point of the executive mind if the hindbrain is doing all the walking and talking?

The primary benefit of this story-making is that it allows formulating predictions and discarding the least probable. When a believable prediction kicks in, the predictive brain incentivizes the hindbrain with a partial taste of any reward or pain, with promises of more should the path transpire.

Disclaimer: not a neuroscientist, just a lifelong enthusiast of the subject.