How Are You Designed To Make Decisions?

If you’re like most people in this world, you’ve been taught to make decisions with your mind. To think it through logically from every angle, then make the decision.

Your mind likes to be in control.

Even if it’s not meant to be…

But would you believe me if I told you your mind is actually meant to observe your life rather than control it? Your mind is actually meant to be the passenger of the vehicle (your body), while another part of you is the driver.

Now, I can see you rolling your eyes from here. You’re probaby thinking, “what the heck is she talking about?? What other part??”

You have a personal authority who is the driver. The REAL decision maker in your life.

Human Design teaches you to live by your strategy & personal authority rather than the mind and people outside of you.

Human Design Teach You To Trust Yourself.

At this point, you’re probably wondering how to know what your personal authority is. Well, we know by looking at our bodygraph.

If you’re a Generator or Manifesting Generator, you can either be sacral authority or emotional authority.

If you’re a Manifestor, you can either be emotional authority, splenic authority, or ego authority.

If you’re a Projector, you can be splenic, self projected, ego, or mental/environmental.

Reflectors have lunar authority.

Now, as I always elaborate, we are each individuals and just because you have the same type or authority as someone else does not mean you both will operate exactly the same. But what Human Design encourages is for us each to recognize and honor our differences. Even if you were raised to follow the path or do things the same as others.

We’ve all heard these sayings…

“Listen to your gut”

“Decide in the moment”

“If there’s a will, there’s a way”

Well…that can be sound advice…for some, but NOT for all.. These are generalizations that would be great if we all had the same authority. But we don’t!

Now, let’s dig into the authorities a bit.

EMOTIONAL AUTHORITY (SOLAR PLEXUS CENTER)

With emotional authority (about 50% of the population), your defined solar plexus emits consistent energy in 1 of 4 emotional waves. In these emotional waves, you experience high, low, or neutral moments. When making a decision, it’s important to do so in a neutral emotional state because it’s when you have the most clarity. Although with emotional authority, it’s normal to not ever reach 100% clarity on any given decision.

When you people to rush you into making a decision NOW, more than likely you are not making said decision in a neutral emotional state. Take your time and ride your emotional wave. With emotional authority, there is no truth in the now.

SACRAL AUTHORITY (SACRAL CENTER)

With sacral authority, the phrase “listen to your gut” is made for you! You have a defined sacral center that responds to things with expressive sounds. You have the ability to make decisions in the now by listening to your body. Those sounds can be Mmhmm or ah-huh for yes. Ugh and uhn-un for no. And hmmm when you’re unsure and the question needs to be rephrased or asked again at a later time. This or that and yes or no questions help sacral authorities get clarity when making a decision.

SPLENIC AUTHORITY (SPLEEN CENTER)

Those with splenic authority are known to “follow their intuition” as this is an intuitive sense of knowing that can’t be rationalized. You just KNOW in the moment. You have the ability to pick up sensory information from your environment that keeps you in tuned with which environments, opportunities, directions, and people are safe (or advantageous) for you and what’s not. The splenic authority is all about the subtle sensations that require a deep level of attention to “hear” and take action. Getting in tuned with the subtle whisper of your intuition takes practice because when it speaks, it does not repeat itself. So staying in the present moment and learning to listen to your body and its survival intelligence is essential. Again, you cannot let the mind’s chatter or the needs, wants, and pressure from anyone else allow you to not listen to what your intuition is telling you.

EGO AUTHORITY (HEART CENTER)

With the heart center defined, it’s important to ask the heart what it wants. If you’re a Manifestor with the heart center connected to the throat, you have heart ego manifested authority. Because the throat is known as the center of manifestation, you SPEAK your desires into action. The key here is to listen to what you say in order to know your truth, not listen to the chatter in your mind. What the heart has to say needs to be verbalized in the moment because as soon as you start to overthink and get stuck in the shoulds by controlling what you “should” say, your authentic desire starts to get lost. Your voice is the leader here, so learn to trust in your own voice.

And if you’re a Projector with this authority, you have the heart center connected to the G center and this means you have heart ego projected authority. This is a rare type of Projector! It’s so important for you to follow your strategy and authority and wait for the invitation. You have a very strong personal identity (your G center) that is surrounded by a lot of openness that can make it easy to be conditioned by the people you’re around and the environment you’re in. You have the ability to be a transformative figure in the lives of others when you are invited. When making decisions, check in with your heart by asking yourself “what do I want?” or “what’s in it for me?” This may sound selfish, but it’s necessary for you to check in with yourself in order to secure your own happiness AND have a great impact.

SELF-PROJECTED AUTHORITY (G CENTER)

When the G center connects to the throat center, it is called self-projected authority. With this authority, whatever you need to know, your truth is in what you say. Your strong sense of identity that originates in your G center speaks in reaction to the invitations you receive. Talking things out is essential for you to know what you think about something.

Listening to the mind and allowing it to control or script what you’ll see is not the move. But letting the words come through verbally is the path of authenticity for you. Your self-projected authority guides you in the decision making process by leaning into what makes you feel like YOU. What feels real and brings a sense of enjoyment into your life. You can also ask yourself questions like “will this make me happy?” “will this allow me to head in the right direction FOR ME?” Another helpful tip for self-projected Projectors - you’ll find it helpful to talk things out with your friends and family, not because you need their opinion, but because your authority likes to verbally express things. Letting your friend or family member know up front that you simply need them to hold space for you without giving their opinion on what you “should” do is important.

MENTAL/ENVIRONMENT AUTHORITY (NO INNER AUTHORITY)

When you’re a Projector with no centers defined below the throat, your authority is mental or the environment. This is another very rare type! You receive guidance from the environment around you through sensory information. When you pay attention to that information, you’ll know whether the environment (and everything else in it) is right for you.

Ask yourself “Is this the right place for me?” When you’re in the physical environment, notice within your body how it feels to you. That will give you the assurance of whether or not it’s the right environment for you or not.

Because you make decisions based on the environment around you, you’re taking in information to make decisions. You’ll find it helpful to have a group of people you trust who serve as a sounding board for you. BUT these people do not have an opinion or authority in your decision making process. They are simply sounding boards that allow you to hear your own thoughts on the matter. Practicing using how you feel about the environments you’re in and the people and things in those environments is ultimately what guides your decisions. Trust yourself.

LUNAR AUTHORITY (LUNAR CYCLE)

Lunar authority is solely reserved for Reflectors, which means there are no defined centers in the bodygraph. With this authority, you are following the cycle of the moon when making decisions. That means a whole 28 days since the moon goes through each of the 64 gates of the circuitry in that period of time.

Now, this doesn’t mean you’ll feel different every time a new phase of the moon appears. But it means you must slow down and take your time, thinking about and talking through the decision you are making with your own trusted group of people, your sounding board. This group is not here to be your authority or give you “the answer” but you gain clarity by hearing yourself talk over time, so they are needed to listen while respecting your decision making cycle (28 days!).

As a reflector with so much openness, you are a mirror to the environment around you, so your environment and the people around you is of the utmost importance because it impacts how you feel. At the same time, spending time alone with yourself is also essential to just BE without the influence of other’s energy.

So now you know how to make decisions based on your authority. For more tips on using your human design, check out the free resources I offer on Instagram. If you’re ready to book a reading, click here to learn more.