Read the Transcript:

Hello and welcome to The Live FAB Life Podcast!

Before we jump into today's episode, a housekeeping item - yesterday, I sent out my monthly newsletter to my email community. If you’re not yet part of it, I’ll include a link where you can subscribe on the show notes for this episode at livefablife.com/290 for Episode 290.

I send my newsletter on the first Tuesday of every month. It's a recap of the podcast episodes, any content that I’ve shared in the past month so you can catch up on anything that you may have missed. I also share what's on my radar - Human Design in the wild, what I’m watching, reading and listening to, etc, as well as any new or special offers that I have.

All right, let's get to the topic of the day.

I’ve spent a lot of time in self-observation - and in observation of others. I have come to very strongly believe that the most important skill that to have in life and for your health, is the ability to make correct decisions for yourself - to have enough trust in yourself to make decisions with confidence.

When it comes down to it, Human Design is about learning how to trust yourself, how to love yourself, and how to have confidence in yourself.

If you’re really here to learn about “how to be healthy?” That’s it. Learn how to trust yourself, love yourself and have confidence in yourself.

When you’re able to do that, there’s no second guessing your decisions.

How long have you been searching for “the answer” on how to be healthy? How long have you been searching for that one root cause? How long have you been trying to bio hack your health?

We see ads, the latest stories on the news, in magazines but at the root of all of it is knowing yourself and trusting that you’re making the correct decisions for you.

How much of your life have you spent doubting yourself? How much time have you spent seeking answers from others? Asking others to tell you what to do? Now, to clarify, this is not the same thing as asking others for advice. There is no shame in asking for advice or asking for help. II think being able to ask for help is a very self-aware thing to do, to know when you need help and support from others.

It's very healthy to know your limits and know when you need someone to help you shoulder the burden.

What I'm talking about here is doing what others do without considering if its right for you. And doing something even though it bothers you or deep down you know it’s not correct for you. What I’m doing about is ignoring your instincts, not trusting your instincts, not trusting yourself, and doing it anyway.

I know that I draw on a lot of stories from my years of long-distance running, but it was a period of my life that I learned so many lessons from. It was a time where I was so disconnected from myself, from my intuition, and despite externally appearing like I was the pinnacle of health, behind the scenes, I was in a bad place.

I didn't have any confidence in myself. I formed a perception in my head of what a - quote, unquote - good runner was supposed to look like, largely based on the running community on Twitter.

Back then, Instagram wasn't really a thing yet, Facebook was for interacting with people you knew in person and Twitter was for connecting with people who you had shared interests with. This was before Twitter became the cesspool that it is today. Back then, I met some solid people and have maintained those, now real-life friendships, till this day. It was a fun place to be to connect with people who shared interests.

But it also influenced me in forming this narrative in my head of what a “good” runner looked like, and I did not fit that perception, and since I didn’t fit the “good runner” narrative, then I must’ve been a “bad” runner.

I’d formed this narrative in my head that I was a bad runner because I didn't fit that perception of what a good runner looked like. As a result of that I doubted myself, my abilities, my capabilities, I doubted my training. I doubted my coach. I didn't trust myself. I didn't trust the people in my life who were there to guide and help me. I didn't trust the process. I questioned everything. I’d have won the award for overthinking.

And it just made everything in my life more stressful. I wasn’t sleeping well, which meant my body wasn’t fully recovering from intense workouts, I was grumpy, disgruntled, and moody all the time.

It was counterproductive to my training, yet when you feel like you’re not doing enough of something you think you need to do more. So I did.

At the root of all of that was a lack of self-confidence and an inability to trust myself and follow my intuition. It was like a domino effect in slow-motion - one thing slowly knocked over the other until the dominoes for all facets of my like lay flat. Nothing was going right so I tried to do everything harder, which led to overtraining where both my body and my mental health suffered to the point where I couldn’t even run a mile without a complete meltdown.

In hindsight, when I started to pull back the layers to uncover the “root cause,” the root cause wasn’t overtraining, it wasn’t adrenal fatigue, it wasn’t hormone imbalance – those things were all a result of the decisions I’d made – a disconnection to myself, a poor self-esteem, an inability to trust myself and follow my instincts stemming from a narrative that I developed based on external influences. In other words – conditioning.

We've all been conditioned in some way, shape or form and conditioning pulls us away from following our intuition.

In Human Design, your intuition, is your Authority, and this is why I believe that following your Authority - your decision-making skills and your ability to make correct decisions for you is THE most important skill to have for your physical, mental and emotional health.

When you don't follow your Authority, you're not in alignment – you’re not using your energy efficiently or effectively as its meant to be used – no wonder you’re tired all the time! And that creates an internal tension – stress - and the root cause of all root causes is stress in some form or another.

So, the question we’re left with is, “How do I follow my Authority?”

There are seven Human Design Authorities. Let’s take a brief look at each one in the order of operations.

First is always the Emotional Authority. If you have an Emotional Authority, avoid making spontaneous decisions. I know, spontaneity and impulsivity are cool, but when it comes to decision-making, it’s not correct for you.

So, before jumping on the latest TikTok trend, pause and ask yourself, “Is this new trend actually correct for me.”

If I were an Emotional Authority (I’m not, but if I were), I know that dairy is a huge no-no for me. The amount of pain my body feels, not just digestively, but overall is terrible. That being said, who doesn’t love cheese?

So, if I were an Emotional Authority and in the spur of the moment, I was walking through the Farmers Market and there was a cheese vendor with samples of their latest cheese, I might be tempted to snatch a piece and try it.

Some might think, “Well, it’s just a small piece, how much harm can it really do?” For me - a lot.

So, if I were an Emotional Authority, I’d not act on impulse and wait till my emotions temper, and remember that this is not the best choice for me, and its not worth the consequences that will come inevitably come as a result of the indulgence.

Next in the order of operations is the Sacral Authority. If you have a Sacral Authority then unlike the Emotional Authority, spontaneity IS for you -- but so are binary decisions.

So, when faced with a decision, don’t ask open-ended questions; rather, ask “this or that” questions and then follow your gut feeling.

If I were a Sacral Authority (I’m not, but if I were), and I was feeling okay physically albeit a bit run down mentally, a question I could ask myself is, “Should I work out today or should I take a rest day?” This or that. “A” or “B.” The temptation is strong to push through – I get it, friend, even people with a Defined Sacral Center need rest – albeit physically, mentally, or emotionally – too!

As a Splenic Authority, because yes, this is my Authority -- in my personal experience, I don’t even need to ask a question. I don’t need to ask, “this or that.” I don’t need to wait for clarity because when I’m faced with a decision, I already know the answer.

That’s what’s different between disconnected, overtrained me, and me now. I know what works for my body and what doesn’t. I know when I need to take a rest day. It’s instantaneous, I can’t always explain it, but I know it.

The challenge comes in following through with what I know to be correct for me because I may not like what the path or timing again. Another decision to be made.

The other challenge, and this is for me personally, because I have a 3rd Profile Line, so I like to experiment with things. I learn through trial-and-error experiences.

So, sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes, there’s a quagmire of “Okay this might not be correct for me, but what happens if I just give it a try?” There’s a lot of nuances there, and the risk of wasting energy, but I’m speaking from personal experience, transparently

Next, if you have a Self-Projected Authority, put your thoughts into words. Sitting on a decision, ruminating on it in your head won’t help you. Voice your thoughts.

If I were a Self-Projected Authority - and we’ve established that I’m not - but if I were and I was making a decision, say, well since I talked about being a long-distance runner, we’ll stick with this theme, but you insert whatever decision you’re making, but if I were making a decision on what training program to follow, I’d talk it out with a friend - but - with the understanding that their opinion doesn’t matter or will have any influence on my ultimate decision. Your clarity will come when you speak things out.

If you have an Ego Authority, you also need to put your thoughts into words. This sounds like the same as the Self-Projected Authority but it’s not - its nuanced because for the Ego Authority, it’s about voicing your thoughts again and again until what you truly want - your heart’s desire is revealed.

So, if I were an Ego Authority and let’s say I was debating purchasing a Peloton - the key word being “debating” which indicates that I’m not completely sure about it - if I had an Ego Authority, I’d need to voice everything that I feel about it to understand if it’s something I really, truly want. And when your true heart’s desire is revealed, you’ll know what the correct decisions are for you.

If you have a Mental Authority - and I have to say - I think the Mental Authority is the most challenging Authority to all because the Mental Authority operates above the Throat Center – it’s all about the Head and Ajna Centers but the challenge there is understand the nuance of not allowing your mind to make your decisions because the mind is where overthinking and conditioning comes in, and making decisions with your mind is not correct for any of the Authorities.

So, if you have a Mental Authority, put yourself in the environment – the spaces and places that will heighten your senses so that the most obvious, logical, and correct decision will be clear.

Back in Episode 207, I interviewed Janelle Turner, a fellow Human Design colleague, who has a Mental Authority. It was a fascinating conversation because I’m so curious about this Authority. Janelle shared how she takes walks in nature, her preferred environment – to allow the obvious, logical, and correct decisions to come to her.

If I had a Mental Authority, say I was deciding about a treatment plan to follow or a healer to work with, or a job to take – and I mention a job because you work has every bit of impact on your health and well-being – but if I had a Mental Authority, I’d be taking walks in nature too!

Lastly, if you have a Lunar Authority, like the Emotional Authority, spontaneity and impulsive decisions aren’t correct for you - at least when it comes to big decisions.

But, unlike the Emotional Authority, you have a cycle to follow - the moon cycle. So, if I had a Lunar Authority, I’d do what Tanya Reyes, a Human Design colleague with a Lunar Authority who joined me in Episode 202, does…

If I had a Lunar Authority and I had a big decision to make concerning my physical, mental and/or emotional health, I’d count 28 days out from today and see how the next four weeks plays out. I’d sit in self-observation with non-judgement and on Day 28 see what decision I’m led to.

Every single thing we do in our lives and in our health comes down to choices and decisions so mastering your decision-making skill is essential - its critical and the most important skill and tool you can have to bridge the gap between you, your energy and your health and well-being.

And you master this skill by following your Authority because not doing so is a risk to your energy and the tension, stress, and obstacles that come with not following it. I did an episode series on Human Design Authority where I interviewed a person for each Authority. I’ll link to those episodes in the show notes that you can find at www.livefablife.com/290 for Episode 290.

And if you want to learn more about Authorities, they’re covered in my Human Design Essentials self-study program and also in Eating for Energy and how they pertain to the way you feed and nourish yourself.

If you want to get personal and learn how your Authority fits with other parts of your Human Design and explore how to incorporate it into your personal life, a Human Design Playbook, which is how I do Human Design readings is a great solution for that. I’ll also include a link for it in the show notes so you can learn more.

Once again, thank you for your time, energy and attention and I’ll see you back here again next time – bye for now!