We make decisions in business and in life every minute of every day. Some decisions are easy, and some are more difficult. Some decisions are small and routine, and some are big and important. No matter the weight of the decision, we always strive to make the right decision, the right decision for you and your business.
Deciding, especially on an important issue that can make or break your business or impact it for a long time, can be a struggle. The more important it is to get it right, the more we struggle. We research related information, we look at what others have done in similar situations, we ask for the opinion of others, we ponder, some consult cards, astrologers, and psychics. However, going outside of ourselves searching for answers usually doesn’t get us any closer to the right decision. There are many business owners living with the regret of decisions they said yes to that should have been a no.
What’s Trust Got to Do with Good Decision Making?
Have you ever watched a game show where the contestant turns and looks to the audience for the answer? They blindly trust and accept what the audience says without knowing them, their background, or what they know about the subject.
Yet, we don’t trust ourselves enough to go inside for the answer. We have been trained to believe that deciding is a logical, critical thinking exercise. We have been trained to weigh the pros and cons, think about it rationally, use data, hard facts, past experiences, and take the emotion out of it. I’ve even heard it said that logical thinking increases creativity. At some level, we don’t really buy into this, or it fails to give us the result we need so we seek the answer from others.
In Human Design, we learn that the head is designed for curiosity not finding answers. We are created as beings that question things based on our desire to understand them, feed our curiosity, and our creative need to stretch the possibilities. There are no answers in your head, not yours nor others whose opinion you seek. When you discount emotion and the heart, you can end up with answers and decisions that are not aligned with who you are. Making decisions in this manner can put you at odds with your business and lead you down a path of poor choices, discouragement, even burnout. Naturally aligned decisions come from your Authority not your head.
Human Design Authority
In Human Design, we learn that we all have decision making authority, a place in our energetic DNA we can go to get the answers we need to any decision quickly and easily. For the most part, there is a center in everyone’s body designed for decision making. It varies by your Human Design configuration, but it is never your head. It is an area in your makeup that you can trust 100% to give you the answer that is an aligned answer. Let’s identify the various authorities in Human Design,
- Emotional Authority – 50% of people have emotional authority. It is possible for all energy types except for Reflectors to have emotional authority. People with emotional authority need time to make the right decision. They have what is called an emotional “wave” they must go through to be sure their decision is the right one. They can make a quick decision, but need to be sure their decision remains true over the course of their wave. They may want to change their mind as they go through this process. The term “sleep on it” is for the emotional authority. It is much better to take your time than to say yes to something that is really a no. You have emotional authority if your Solar Plexus is defined or colored in, in your chart. You feel the right decisions in your Solar Plexus.
- Sacral Authority – is exclusive to Generators and Manifesting Generators. It is a powerful Yes/No internal compass that speaks through sounds like u-huh for yes and unt-uh for no. If you have this authority, you can access it to make quick and decisive aligned decisions by asking yourself or having someone else ask you yes/no questions. Feel the sounds in your sacral center. For Generators who also have a defined Solar Plexus, you have access to the sacral center and can use it to get answers, but still must ride your emotional wave when making decisions as the Solar Plexus will be your primary authority center.
- Splenic Authority – All types except Reflectors can have splenic authority. You have this authority if your Spleen is defined or colored in your body graph. The spleen reacts quickly, a gut reaction if you will. It’s like a whisper that says do it or don’t do it rather than a yes or no. The spleen is all about safety and instinct. If a situation is perceived as safe, the authority will say do it, but a split second later, if danger is introduced, the spleen can switch to a “don’t”. Trusting yourself is the biggest issue for those with Splenic Authority.
- Ego Authority – is particular to the Manifestor and to a much lesser degree the Projector. It is centered in a defined Will and is very “I” driven. I want this or I want to do that. It is very powerful. A second component of this authority is wrapped around the question, “Do I have the Energy to do this?” It is very rare in Projectors. You can tell if you have this authority as it will mention it in your Energy Type.
- Sounding Board Authority – is unique to Projectors and doesn’t live in any center in the body. It is the need to talk it out with others, or to at least hear it out loud to come to a conclusion. If you don’t see any authority mentioned in your chart, you may need to talk things out with others.
- Lunar Authority – is unique to the 1% of the population that are Reflectors. They must wait a whole lunar cycle to get enough clarity to make an aligned decision.
Decision making is all about how it feels in your body, which is contrary to the way we have been taught to make decisions. Unfortunately, our natural authority has been trained out of us. To reconnect to your real decision making center, your authority, you may have to wake it up by becoming aware of it and practicing using it, listening to it, and trusting it.
Think of a time you made a decision that was the right decision for you. Can you remember your process? Was it quick and instinctive rather than agonizing? Now think of a decision you made that wasn’t right for you, that caused you to change your mind, second guess yourself, or put you in a position to something you really weren’t crazy about. Can you remember that process? It was probably more difficult.
To make better business decisions, yes, you should research and maybe even talk to others to learn what they know or seek their opinions. These are not bad practices to have in your business decision making process. However, add one final step of checking in with your authority to feel how the decision sits with you and give yourself the time you need to get clarity around it.
If you feel yourself bouncing up into your head for the answer, you are deciding on the information you gathered the way you have been taught to and not the way you are designed to. Learn to catch yourself at this step and tune into yourself to see how it feels. What is your authority saying? How is your body feeling in your authority center? Has your decision changed after sleeping on it?
If you can begin by catching yourself when you fail to check in with your authority, then add that step to your process, over time it will become natural to seek answers using your authority as you were divinely designed. You will find your choices will be aligned with who you are and how you came here to do business and it will be much easier to make the right decision.
