I absolutely love talking about all things Human Design. And, I truly get lit up when I can take what can appear to be dense, complicated information and turn that into practical, usable insights.
That’s what I do in bringing Human Design to life for my clients.
I help them connect the dots on a foundational level first, then we can go deeper into all the different nuances, if they want.
One of the questions that came up as I shared a previous post on LinkedIn about my journey in first being introduced to Human Design, was this:
I’m curious. How does studying Human Design help you speed up the decision making process? In other words, to make better decisions without wasting time.
I absolutely LOVE this question, and as I responding back, I figured it made sense to go a little deeper and write a full article on the subject, as well.
When you understand your Human Design (your unique operating plan and energetic blueprint), you also learn to understand how to be in the best alignment to make the “correct” or “right” decisions for you.
For starters, when we drop into our Authority (how we make decisions), we move out of our head and into our bodies.
This is an extremely critical first step.
Because I get we have a culture that has conditioned us to make decisions from our Mind. Yet, when we do that, we actually pull ourselves out of our natural alignment.
You see, your body is a truth-teller and your best friend. It has a built-in mechanism to provide you the signals you need to make the best decisions, the ones the feel “right” and “correct,” for you.
It’s through your Authority that you can stop shoulding and shaming all over yourself, and letting imposter syndrome take you out. Instead, you can quiet down your Monkey Mind, and listen to what you body has to say.
In doing this, you make better and faster decisions that are in alignment with your truth and your Soul Purpose.
Let me break the different types of Authority down for you:
Sacral Authority
For those with Sacral (or Pure) Authority, meaning you have a defined Sacral Center on your chart (it will be colored in), you will get a gut response in the moment. It’s a clear vibration or “hum” that either feels like a juicy “uh huh” or resounding “nah uh” … often not even needing words.
Though, if you were to translate it into words, the defined Sacral provides a clear HELL YES or HELL NO response. The trick is to recognize it and listen to it … versus giving the power to your Mind to justify.
The defined Sacral responds to “yes/no” or “this/that” questions best.
It’s power is in the moment.
Meaning it responds quickly. The Sacral either feels lit up and expansive, or tight and contracted. When you learn to trust that as a Sacral Authority, you can then rapid fire big decisions and know immediately.
If the Sacral is unable to feel an easy “yes” or “no” response, it usually means you need to ask more clarifying questions, or you need to break the decision into a smaller bite. Sacral Authorities (Generator types — the only Types who can have Sacral Authority) have a stair-step approach to their learning and decision-making. Meaning if it’s not a clear response, the question may be too big (likely, you’re trying to figure out the whole staircase, rather than focusing on the first step).
If the question is bite-size and you still are unclear, the answer is “no” … and, you are trying to rationalize a “yes” through logic and your Mind.
Most people with Sacral Authority don’t know how to trust their gut. We have so much noise around us, that they often find themselves either over-analyzing or seeking outside validation (or both).
Often, those with a Sacral Authority need to practice tuning back into their gut “hum” and learn to trust themselves and their gut once again.
The best way to do this is to follow the path of your own curiosity and what lights you up in the moment. You need to interact with the world from a place of childlike wonder and awe, through play and movement.
You are here to respond to life, itself, and what you perceive the world needs right now.
This is the way of the Sacral Authority.
Emotional Authority:
If, however, you have Emotional Authority, meaning you have a defined (again, this center will be colored in) Emotional Solar Plexus (ESP), you then have to wait to ride out your emotional wave (usually 1–3 days, maybe more) to make big decisions.
Emotional Authority is the most powerful and the first pass for overall decision-making. If you have a colored in Emotional Solar Plexus, then you have this Authority, regardless of what Type you are.
The goal for you is to make decision over time, from an emotionally neutral or centered space. Over the course of your wave (the timing for everyone is different), your “yes” remains constant.
You have no power in the now.
When you know this about yourself, you can set expectations appropriately, manage your time, energy and boundaries effectively, and not say “yes” prematurely (aka, shiny squirrel syndrome).
It saves you from needing to backtrack and unwind your decision later.
It also prevents you from creating unnecessary stress and frustration taking on things that are not meant for you, or causing you burnout because you said “yes” when you really should have said “no.”
The struggle for those with an Emotional Authority is first, honoring the depth of their emotions. You will have highs (that feel like euphoria and excitement) and you will experience lows (that often feel like melancholy).
Second, they need to learn patience.
I know this to be true, as I am an Emotional Authority, myself. And, as an Emotional Manifesting Generator, slowing down and having patience is an extra challenge. (I’ll talk more specifically about the Types in another post.)
When those with Emotional Authority do ride out their wave, when they say “yes” to what is “correct” for them, they then are able to do so from a really grounded level of commitment. It gives them power to stay the course and see that commitment through to completion.
Otherwise, without riding their wave, they find themselves saying “yes” too soon, which they leads them to either cop out or burn out.
Ah, you can already see the differences in decision-making between just the Sacral Authority and the Emotional Authority. Just wait … there’s more!
Splenic Authority
If you have Splenic Authority, you will find you have similarities in your knowing to those with Sacral Authority. However, your intuitive “hit” will be much more subtle, and it will disappear immediately after showing up.
This signal (or whisper) of knowing is there to guide you in one of two capacities: 1) for your safety and survival, or 2) for your overall health and wellness, as the Spleen is our fear center.
The fears either stem from a space of flight, fight, freeze … in the case of a bear standing in front of you and you need to take immediate action for your own survival. Or, the fear is more existential in nature.
This means that you have an internal wisdom that whispers to you about what is best aligned for your health and wellness, and your body. Splenic Authority shows up as either a feeling of fear, or one of knowingness.
The opportunity if you have Splenic Authority is to listen to the whisper.
This can be difficult as it is rather quiet and likely only shows up in a single moment. When it does, then you can discern whether to follow the knowingness in the moment, or to consider what the fear represents.
You can then ask yourself, “Am I in imminent danger? Do I need to take action? Or, is this fear a space where I am holding myself back?”
The overall message with Splenic Authority is to show you how to best preserve your overall wellbeing and vitality.
Ego Authority
If you have Ego Authority, then you have a defined Ego Center, and an open or undefined Sacral, Emotional Solar Plexus, and Spleen Centers.
Yours is a resource energy.
This means you make decisions based on whether you have the energy for that thing, and/or the resources to support that decision. This is especially important for those of you who are also Projectors.
Resources can be in the form of time, money, energy, education, information, and wellness you have available.
The Ego Authority can find that they burn themselves out very easily, as they often “will” themselves to do something, because they think they “should,” rather than check in to see whether they are coming from a place of overflow in assessing the resources available for them.
It’s absolutely essential and critical that those with Ego Authority pause, and really slow, in order to check in with themselves.
It is not a matter of sheer willpower.
Mental or Self-Projected Authority
This type Authority is more of a “catch-all” for the remaining Authorities who represent a very small portion of the overall population.
These Authorities all need to talk their decisions through, in some form or fashion, out loud with people who really know them, or in an environment that feels nourishing and safe.
For example, you might seek out a trusted friend, or confident, who can hold space for you without giving you advice (you are not seeking council, just a sounding board), or you find yourself walking and talking to yourself in nature among the trees, or by the water.
Anyone or any place that makes you feel seen, heard, value, supported, loved, and held is key. For when you speak out loud in those spaces, you can hear your own truth come through quite easily.
You will know your truth as soon as it lands.
You are here to process orally with those who have your wellbeing at heart.
As you can see, there are some pretty substantial nuances between the different Authorities. Which illustrates that we all don’t make healthy or correct decisions the same. What works best for one person, may be the detriment to someone else.
Now, we can better understand why imposter syndrome and burnout are so prevalent in our culture and society.
And, keep in mind, this is only one tiny little slice of the overall Human Design picture. You first have to break the chart apart to understand each piece, then you need to put it all back together … as this is the unique energetic blueprint that then becomes you customized roadmap on how you best operate in the world and with others.
So, recognize that Human Design is like a puzzle that first needs to be deconstructed to then put back together to understand the picture the puzzle is truly trying to convey.
Imagine jumping down one rabbit hole, only to find yourself heading into unexpected adventure like Alice did through the looking glass.
This is why I find Human Design so fascinating.