How do you decide?

 "Oh no!" my husband gasps, looking down at his phone sitting next to his breakfast. "The guy that hosted the party for John and Laura tested positive for COVID!"

"I'm so sorry." I say, quickly adding, "But the party was outside, and you were masked, and stayed something like 30 minutes. We'll be fine."

"But I've worked so hard to make sure not to bring anything home. I could never forgive myself" . . . he trails off and looks guilty.

"Yes you have been careful and look at me, not vaccinated yet, but still alive. I credit you."

Then his brow tightens and he looks straight into my eyes. "I knew I shouldn't go. Remember, I told you before I went I knew I shouldn't go."

I used to ask groups of students in public university classes a question about this very thing. Out of 32ish in a room, 20ish of them responded that yes they had previously had a knowing about something that they ignored and then paid the price later, or were at least sorry they hadn't listened to their knowing. Many admitted to doing so regularly.

Even though it was outside, even though it was small, even though he would wear a mask, my husband had a knowing that he shouldn't go to the gathering. And then very quickly the voice in his head that calls him lazy, reminds him what a small gesture to go early before the crowd and say bon voyage to his friends, launched a monologue that convinced him he was a jerk if he didn't go. 

3 Main Authorities are predetermined

Almost half of humans (just under 50%) are meant to decide using the wave of their emotions. My husband is one, and from the beginning, resisted making a decision about the party. He waffled between loyalty and safety. He and others like him are not meant to decide in the moment nor in the high or low of their Emotional wave as it weighs in and keeps track of the upsides and downsides.  They are meant to wait until both of those voices have spoken and the clarity of the deliberation reveals itself as a directive. If you are an Emotional decision maker, you might feel uncomfortable when others rush you to decide. If this is you, resist the pressure. Ask for time. You may not get as much as you'd like, but you are not built to decide in the pressure of the moment.

Second in numbers are Sacral decision makers. These are people that are intended to decide using their Sacral energy's strong voice in the middle of their bellies that can respond to questions like, "Is this good for you now?" Those with Sacral Authority report a feeling of opening or closing to an idea, their body being pulled toward something or contracting away from it. This is their body deciding for them those things that are right and those things that are not, in the moment. If you are asked such a question and your body rebels, run! No matter what your head might second guess to shame you into changing its mind, the body knows. If this is you, learn to speak your knowing. "This does't feel right to me at this moment."

The third most common decision making Authority is the Spleen. These are the fastest decision makers. They are meant to be spontaneous in their decisions and make them based on their intuition in the moment. The best description I can make of a Splenic impulse is when I hear a little voice whisper a command, "Do this." It is very quiet and only speaks once. If you ignore it, it's gone never to return. If you have left-behind Splenic whispers that you ignored and regretted, you know what I'm talking about. 

Back to my husband, Human Design has come more through osmosis for him rather than study. After all one cannot live with a Human Design student and coach (5th year now) without picking up some things. His unique Authority requires both checking against his Sacral AND (if given permission) running it through his Emotional Wave. This is not a guy that generally stands still long enough to follow such a cumbersome process. But I've watched him reach an understanding about his energy being used correctly and when it isn't. Learning and gaining confidence is another. What he got with the COVID scare an instance when he didn't follow his knowing. It is unclear in retrospect if it was his Sacral's lack of interest OR an Emotional NO that he felt, but getting the brunt of a decision gone wrong when one feels to blame is a perfect teachable/learnable moment.