Episode 327: Human Design Lessons on Self-Leadership: Learning to Trust Your Own Judgment Again
You know how the saying goes, “trust your intuition”? It sounds great — until you're staring at your meal plan, second-guessing your symptoms, and wondering why you still don’t feel like yourself.
This episode is about self-leadership — and how Human Design gives you a practical path back to trusting your judgment, body, and energy again.
We’ll unpack what self-leadership really means, the subtle ways we learn to override it (even with “good” advice), and how each of the seven Human Design Authorities offers a tangible, practical approach to building that trust again — one decision at a time.
This isn’t about ignoring input or never asking for support. It’s about becoming the kind of person who knows how to hear themselves — and lead themselves — even in the noise.
In this episode:
What self-leadership is (and isn’t)
Why wellness culture often disconnects us from our inner compass
Seven ways Human Design helps you stop outsourcing your decisions
The difference between following intuition vs. understanding your Authority
Listen to the Episode:
“Unlike a lot of wellness advice that says “just trust your intuition,” Human Design actually gives you a map for how to do that.”
Read the Transcript:
One of the best things that Human Design has helped me with is stepping into self-leadership.
Self-leadership — it’s one of those phrases that gets tossed around a lot, but rarely explained in a way that actually means something.
I define self-leadership as: the ability to trust yourself — to notice your inner signals, honor your needs, and make decisions from within instead of defaulting to what’s expected.
It’s not about being hyper-independent, as I’ve been known to be called, nor is it never asking for help.
To me, self-leadership is recognizing that, even when you receive support, advice, or information — you still get to lead.
But in the wellness world, this isn’t how it’s taught.
We’re taught to follow plans, not feel into our bodies. And when we’re taught to feel into our bodies, it’s only taught one way, ignoring our bioindividuality – no wonder some of us just don’t “get it.”
We’re told to use the app, trust the chart, follow the schedule — but not our own instincts and intuition.
We’re encouraged to copy routines, protocols, and "what worked for her" — even when it doesn’t work for us.
And over time, this builds a deep disconnect. We stop knowing what hunger feels like. We give our power to lab results, Fitbits, meal plans, macros — anything but our own inner signals.
We start second-guessing every choice. We lose confidence in our decision-making abilities. Essentially, we lose trust in ourselves. We lose the ability to lead ourselves.
But when you reclaim your self-leadership – magical things happen: You stop bouncing between trends because you know what’s right for you – and what’s not.
You stop needing validation. You no longer have to ask three people for their opinions / thoughts / permissions before you trust your instincts.
You know when something is or isn’t right — not just in your mind, but in your body.
You move differently. You’re more grounded; more in rhythm and flow with life.
This is where Human Design becomes a game-changer.
Because unlike a lot of wellness advice that says “just trust your intuition,” Human Design actually gives you a map for how to do that.
Ten or 15 years ago I started really venturing into wellness. I followed all the so-called “thought leaders”, the influencers (although that’s not what they were called back then), the subject matter experts. I read their blogs, listened to their podcasts, followed them on Snapchat, watched their Periscopes, read their books.
This is when I started to really hone in on the mind-body connection – that they aren’t separate entities, that we are full body beings and the two are intricately connected.
So, I started to learn more about intuition. And those “experts”, the ones that taught “intuition” – they drove me crazy because I just didn’t get it.
I read the books over and over again and each time was left thinking, “How the F do I follow my intuition?! Why are things not happening to me the way it did for them – how they said it would for me? Am I doing it wrong? Is something wrong with me? I don’t get it.”
And I carried that sense that something was wrong with me for a long time.
But here’s what I’ve come to know – if we truly believe and practice bio-individuality, the belief that we’re all different - then why have we been taught that there is only one way that intuition works? Because guess what - there isn’t only one way! Human Design teaches this.
Your Human Design Authority is your decision-making mechanism. How YOU are meant to make decisions – not like me, not like your mom and dad, not like the influencer you follow on Tiktok – you. Your Human Design Authority is your intuition. It’s not theoretical. It’s physical. It’s somatic. It’s unique and deeply personal.
And surprise, surprise – there’s not just one Authority — there are seven. So no, intuition doesn’t work the same for everyone. No wonder I couldn’t “get it” - my Splenic intuition works way differently than your intuition.
If you’ve been a long time listener, then you’ve heard me walk through each Authority many times, but it never hurts to hear them again. So let’s walk you through each Authority — briefly — so you can start to hear what your body might be trying to say.
The 7 Authorities:
- Emotional Authority Always first in the order of operations is the Emotional Authority. If you have a Defined Solar Plexus Center, you have an Emotional Authority.
This means that you need time to reach clarity, which means that you need time to make decisions. On-the-spot and impulsive decisions are not meant for you.
If you make decisions in the emotional high or low, they often feel off later.
Let the emotional waves settle. Give yourself time and space – sleep on it.
- Sacral Authority Sacral Authorities are limited to Generators and Manifesting Generators.
If you have a Sacral Authority, you get real-time yes/no cues in your gut. It’s not a pros and cons list, it’s not “maybe or open-ended” — it’s binary, it’s immediate, it’s instinctive, it’s definitive – it's an “uh huh” or “uh uh” – your gut instincts.
Splenic Authority Like the Sacral Authority, the Splenic intuition is immediate. You get quiet, instant knowing — like a whisper. It won’t repeat itself. You’ll just know. It’s often subtle, but sharp – primal instincts.
Self-Projected Authority If you have a Self-Projected Authority, you need to talk things out – not to get advice, but to hear your voice. You just need to hear yourself. You find clarity in self-expression.
Ego Authority If you have an Ego Authority, make your decisions from your will and your truest desires. Ask yourself, “What do I truly want?” This isn’t selfish — for the Ego Authority, it’s aligned. When your heart’s in it, it’s right.
Mental/Environmental Authority If you have a Mental Authority, you need trusted sounding boards and you need to be the right environment for you.
For some people with a Mental Authority, taking a walk in nature is their process when they need to make big decisions. The bottom line is that your decisions are best made when you’re in the right space, with the right people, even if that person is just yourself.
- Lunar Authority (for Reflectors) And last but certainly not least, if you’re Reflector, you have a Lunar Authority.
You move on a 28-day cycle – the moon cycle. So, there’s no forcing clarity — like the Emotional Authority it comes with time, reflection, and sampling.
So, when you start making decisions based on your Authority — instead of what the world says you should do, or your family expects of you, or what the influencer you follow does — when you follow your own intuition – your own Authority – something shifts. You feel more steady. You stop second-guessing yourself. You start to feel confident. You lead yourself.
And that my friend, that’s what self-leadership is. When you can confidently trust your own judgement. It's grounded knowing that you have the ability to make choices and decisions that you instinctively and intuitively know are correct for you.
Imagine being able to scroll through your social media feed and see everyone talking about how much protein you MUST have each day, or THE workout thats the key to perfect health, or the one supplement that’s going to change everything, or the way you’re supposed to show up on social media – and being able to know what might be something that suits you and what to keep scrolling and leave behind.
As someone who used to be that person who hung on to every word someone I followed said and then had to emulate and do the same things too, only to be disappointed, frustrated, and left feeling like something was wrong with me because I didn’t get the same results, I can tell you that when you’re able to trust your judgement and follow your Authority, knowing that it doesn’t fail you, its extremely freeing. It’s a kind of confidence that I want everyone to have within themselves.
But I also want you to know that it’s developed with practice.
Because self-trust isn’t something you either have or don’t. It’s something you build. Over time. One decision at a time.
I’m still building it in myself. I have decades of conditioning to unlearn – it will be a lifelong effort but its worth it.
And Human Design gives you a way to do this.
If you're ready to rebuild that trust and lead yourself with clarity, check out my signature program Find Your Flow — it’s where we take your Authority and your energy patterns and actually map out a rhythm that fits you.
Or if this is all new to you, grab my free Energy Mapping 101 guide — it's a great place to start noticing what’s working and what’s not in your day-to-day energy.
Both are linked in the show notes.
Thank you so much for being here - for sharing your time, energy and attention with me. I’ll be right back here next time – on my birthday!
Bye for now!
Naomi Nakamura is a Health x Human Design coach who’s creating a healthier society through aligned energy.
She blends a bespoke mix of Functional Nutrition and Human Design to help others shift into alignment to leverage and correctly manage their energy to support their body, mind, and spirit.
She believes that when we embrace our authenticity and lean into our bio-individuality, we naturally live a life of freedom, empowerment, and optimal health.
Naomi resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and can often be found exploring the area with her puppy girl, Coco Pop!
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