How to Ride Your Emotional Wave Rather Than Rationalise It – A Practical Guide for Generators
If you are part of the 50% of people with Emotional Authority (aka Solar Plexus Authority) in Human Design, then you know that your truth isn't in the moment—it comes over time as you ride the wave of hope and pain. But how long do you ride the wave?
Have you ever found yourself weeks deep into contemplating a decision, convinced you're "riding the emotional wave," when in reality, you're "thinking it", and just going in circles? — Let’s unpack what it looks like to feel the wave, rather than rationalise it.
— In this article —
Sacral Intelligence vs. Mental Chatter
As a Generator or Manifesting Generator, your sacral response is the first step. It gives you that immediate "Oooh," "uh-huh" (yes), or "uh-uh" (no) when you're presented with an opportunity or decision point.
But if you have Emotional Authority, you don't act on that response immediately. Instead, you wait until the emotional highs and lows settle.
The most important thing to remember as you ride the wave is this:
The Sacral is not an awareness center — which means it does not have thoughts! If you have "thoughts" about a decision, you're not in your Sacral. And typically, Sacral intelligence does not make practical sense.
This is why people second-guess their Sacral and then feel very confused about their yes's and no's.
So if you find yourself caught up in mental chatter—rationalising, debating, justifying—then you're not in your sacral. You're in your head.
When "Waiting" Becomes Avoidance: A Real-World Example
Sarah, an Emotional Generator, spent nearly two months "considering" whether to join a professional development group she felt excited about. She told herself she was "riding the wave," but in reality, she was relying on logic, weighing up pros and cons, and getting caught up in a cycle of endless questions—all mental activities!
When we spoke, I asked her, "What did you feel when you first heard about this opportunity?" She immediately lit up and said, "Oh, it felt so exciting and expansive." That was her sacral saying yes—but instead of taking time to feel through the wave, she rationalised her way through with "what ifs," "Yeah but's," and "maybes."
For large decisions like this, Emotional Generators typically need anywhere from a few days to perhaps 1-2 weeks to ride the emotional wave—not months of analytical deliberation.
The 80% Clarity Principle
If you have Emotional Authority, you'll only ever feel about 80% sure of any decision. That's as clear as it gets. So riding the wave does not mean waiting until you feel 100% certain. It simply means it's important not to rush yourself into a decision, and to give yourself space to feel all the feels. I hope this offers you some relief if that's what you've been doing.
Decision Timeframes: How Long Should You Actually Wait?
Different decisions require different processing times, but none should keep you in analysis paralysis:
Small daily decisions: Minutes to hours (What to eat, which route to take)
Medium decisions: A few hours to 1-2 days (Whether to take on a new client)
Significant decisions: 3 days to 1-2 weeks (Job changes, major investments)
Life-altering decisions: 1-3 weeks (Moving, career changes, major relationships)
If you've been "processing" longer than these timeframes, you're likely overthinking rather than feeling.
How to Break the Thinking Loop
When emotional clarity arrives, it feels different from mental "figuring out." You might notice:
A quiet knowing that doesn't need to be defended or explained
A sense of relief or release, even if the decision isn't the "logical" choice
A physical openness in your chest or belly area
Mental analysis, by contrast, often feels tight, frustrating, and never quite complete. To break the mental loop and reconnect with your true authority, ask yourself:
What is my sacral saying versus what is my mind saying? If you struggle to answer the first part (What is my sacral saying?), but can easily list all the reasons why you should or shouldn't do something... you're in your head, not your body.
Am I feeling my decision or thinking about my decision? (Feeling = body intelligence. Thinking = mind interference.)
Have I actually been waiting for clarity, or have I been avoiding making a decision? (This calls out the tendency to delay out of fear rather than true emotional processing.)
Emotional Authority Reconnection Practice
If you're stuck in analysis paralysis, drop the decision from your mind into your body:
Sit quietly and place a hand on your belly (sacral area).
Take a deep breath and ask yourself the question you're deciding on.
Don't answer with words. Just notice what your body does:
Do you feel a slight pull forward? (That's a yes.)
Do you feel a contraction or pulling away? (That's a no.)
Do you feel nothing at all? (You need to wait longer for clarity.)
This is a simple but powerful way to break free from the mind and reconnect with the body's intelligence.
Tracking Your Emotional Wave
Start a simple "Wave Tracker" in your journal:
Write down the decision you're contemplating
Note your initial sacral response (the physical sensation)
Check in once in the morning and once in the evening
Record ONLY the physical/emotional sensations, not your thoughts
After 3-7 days, review the pattern
You'll likely see your emotional wave clearly mapped out, making it easier to identify when you've reached that 80% clarity point.
Common Pitfalls for Emotional Generators
1. Societal Pressure and Emotional Authority
We live in a world that values quick decisions and immediate action. As an Emotional Generator, you're designed to move at a different pace. This mismatch can lead to:
Rushing decisions before emotional clarity arrives
Mistaking mental certainty for emotional clarity
Feeling pressured to "know now" when your authority needs time
Remember: Your strategy and authority are your superpower, not a limitation. When you honor your emotional wave, you make decisions that are sustainable and aligned.
2. Mistaking Emotional Reactivity for Clarity
Another common pitfall is confusing emotional reactions with emotional clarity:
Emotional reactivity feels charged, defensive, or urgent
Emotional clarity feels calm, grounded, and centered
If you feel a strong need to justify your decision to others or yourself, you might still be in emotional reactivity rather than clarity.
The Transformation: Tom's Story
Tom, an Emotional Manifesting Generator, used to take months to make business decisions. He thought he was being thorough, but his business stagnated because opportunities passed while he was still "processing."
After learning to distinguish between emotional processing and mental overthinking, he created a simple practice: each morning and evening, he would place his hand on his sacral area and simply feel into the decision without analysing it.
Within two weeks of this practice, he found himself making aligned decisions more quickly. The result? His business started growing because he was able to respond to opportunities within his emotional authority's natural timeframe, rather than losing them to overthinking.
Emotional Authority Reality Check
Rate each statement from 1 (not at all true) to 5 (completely true):
I can easily identify physical sensations in my body related to decisions
I often make lists of pros and cons before deciding
When contemplating a decision, I check in with my body first
I find myself thinking about decisions for weeks or months
I can distinguish between my emotional responses and my mental analysis
I often seek others' opinions to help me decide
I trust my body's signals even when they don't "make sense"
If you scored higher on questions 2, 4, and 6, you might be overthinking rather than truly riding your emotional wave.
Your Clarity is in Your Body, Not Your Mind
Remember these three key questions when making decisions:
What is my sacral saying?
Am I feeling my decision or thinking about it?
Am I truly waiting for clarity, or just avoiding a decision?
Then take a deep breath, drop the question into your body, and listen.
Your clarity isn't in your mind. It's in your body. Always.
Ready to Feel Your Way to Better Decisions?
Bookmark this article so you can easily refer back to it when you find yourself lost in your thoughts, rather than feeling the wave. You might also consider joining the Quiet Marketing Mastermind where conversations like this are common place.
And if this article has been helpful for you, I'd love to know—let's chat in the comments!
Danielle Gardner
The Quiet Marketer
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