How We Make Decisions Shapes Our Lives
According to the theory of Human Design seventy percent of the population have one of three decision-making authorities: Emotional, Sacral, or Splenic. Each of these operates differently, yet all share one thing in common—the mind is not in charge.
In a world that values quick thinking and logic, trusting the body’s intelligence can feel foreign at first. But once you understand your Authority, decision-making stops being a mental struggle. Instead, it becomes a natural process, aligned with who you are.
If you are a practitioner working with clients, knowing their Authority assists you in guiding them more effectively. You can help them recognize their clarity through decision-making strategies that fit for them. Curious about how to do this?
Let’s break down the three most common Authorities and how to support clients in trusting them.
Emotional Authority: The Power of Waiting
Emotional Authority is the most common, approximately 50% of the population benefit from understanding and utilizing this decision making strategy. Anyone with a Defined Emotional Solar Plexus has Emotional Authority which overrides any other potential Authority. This means that even if someone has a gut response or an intuitive hit, their emotions must clear before they can trust their decision.
People with Emotional Authority are not designed to make decisions in the moment. Their clarity comes over time, after they have moved through their emotional wave. That wave could be hours, days, or even weeks.
Emotional Authority operates like a tide. There are highs, where everything feels exciting, and lows, where everything looks bleak. Neither of these places are correct for decision-making. Their truth is found in neutrality, when emotions have settled and clarity emerges.
Many people with Emotional Authority have been conditioned to push for quick answers. They have been told to “go with their gut” or “follow their instincts,” but neither of these strategies will work for them. Their clarity is not instant. It takes patience.
Common Pitfalls
- Making impulsive decisions while on a high and regretting them later.
- Saying no in a low, when the decision would have been correct if they had waited.
- Feeling pressure from others to “just decide.”
How Practitioners Can Support Clients with Emotional Authority
- Encourage them to wait and observe their emotions over time.
- Help them recognize when they are in a high or low, or when they are trying to get something or avoid something.
- Validate that their clarity will come, even if it isn’t immediate.
One simple phrase to offer these people: “If it’s truly right, it will still be right later.”
Sacral Authority: The Gut Response
Sacral Authority belongs exclusively to Generators and Manifesting Generators—about 35% of the population. It is the most immediate and responsive of all Authorities. The gut knows in the moment. It speaks through sound and sensation rather than thought.
Sacral responses are binary: “uh-huh” (yes) or “uh-uh” (no). If a Generator or Manifesting Generator feels lit up, energized, and drawn forward, it is a yes. If they feel heavy, drained, or indifferent, it is a no.
Sacral Authority doesn’t require time. It doesn’t need contemplation. It operates in the present moment and responds to what is right in front of it.
The key is in the response. Sacral beings are not designed to initiate or try to “figure things out.” Instead, life presents them with choices, and their body responds. Their job is to listen.
Many people with sacral authority struggle because they override their gut instincts with logic. They feel the immediate no but justify saying yes. They get a full-body yes but hesitate, questioning if it’s the “smart” choice.
An important consideration with Sacral Authority: They may get a yes in the moment with the information they have, but when more information is given that yes may turn to a no.
Common Pitfalls
- Overthinking decisions instead of trusting their first response.
- Ignoring their gut feeling due to external pressure or conditioning.
- Feeling stuck when they don’t have anything to respond to.
How You Can Support Clients with Sacral Authority
- Ask yes/no questions to help them tune in. Instead of “What do you think?” ask, “Does this feel right for you?”
- Encourage them to notice how their body responds rather than looking for logical explanations.
- Help them recognize where they have overridden their gut in the past.
One simple phrase to offer these types: “Your first response is the truth. Trust it.”
Splenic Authority: Instant Knowing
Splenic Authority is the rarest of the three. Only Manifestors or Projectors potentially have Splenic Authority with only 11% of the population using this decision making strategy. It operates instantly and quietly. The Splenic Center is intuitive, primal, and deeply connected to survival intelligence.
Unlike Emotional Authority, which needs time, and Sacral Authority, which speaks in a with a Yes/No gut response, Splenic Authority is an inner voice, a sign or signal one senses. If it is ignored, it can be lost.
Splenic authority is a whisper, a hit, a knowing. It might come as a quiet voice, a physical sensation, or an unexplainable certainty.
It doesn’t offer reasons. It doesn’t wait for validation. It doesn’t explain itself.
The challenge for Splenic beings is trusting their first knowing. The mind often overrides the Splenic voice, looking for logic. The Splenic person knows immediately but then doubts, hesitates, or dismisses their clarity.
Common Pitfalls
- Ignoring their first knowing and waiting for “proof.”
- Overriding their instincts with logical reasoning.
- Mistaking fear for intuition and hesitating to act.
How You Can Support Clients with Splenic Authority
- Help them recognize how their Splenic voice speaks to them—through words, sensations, or inner knowing.
- Encourage them to reflect on past moments when they “just knew” but didn’t trust it.
- Validate that intuition doesn’t repeat itself. It speaks once.
One simple phrase to offer this type: “If you knew the answer in the moment, that was your truth.”
Comparing the Big Three
Each of these Authorities has a unique way of reaching clarity.
- Emotional Authority needs time. It finds truth in stillness, after the emotions have settled.
- Sacral Authority responds immediately. It is a full-body yes or no, in the present moment.
- Splenic Authority knows in an instant. It is a quiet, immediate hit that does not repeat.
For practitioners, understanding these differences allows you to meet your clients where they are. You can help them stop second-guessing themselves and start trusting their own process.
Final Thoughts: Honoring the Body’s Wisdom
We are not all designed to make decisions the same way. Some people need time. Some people need to respond. Some people know instantly.
The work of a practitioner is not to impose a decision-making style but to help clients recognize their own process and trust it fully.
If you want to deepen your understanding of how to support your clients in making aligned decisions, my book, Understanding Your Clients Through Human Design, is an essential resource.
Are your clients trusting their gut—or overriding it with logic?
Download Understanding Your Clients Through Human Design and start guiding them toward clarity, confidence, and ease.
