What I wish someone told me about being a Mental Projector

Most people say that discovering their Human Design information is transformative, enlightening, and in many cases a relief. They report feeling ‘seen’ and ‘understood’ and many say it’s the first time in their lives they’ve felt this way.

It’s a complex system that piques curiosity from the first time you see the body graph of those colored triangles and squares. What does it all mean?!

As a self-proclaimed ‘chart lover’ I had a similar reaction when I first put in my information and saw the marvel that was me, right there on the screen in front of me. I had the dopamine hit of feeling like I was learning something new AND learning something new about ME. I know the high.

But very shortly after learning my stats, I found that I was a rare bird... I am a Mental Projector. The literature stated that my type made up only something like 3% of the population. In an instant I had a feeling that would plague me for years... feeling unique and special while also very alone and misunderstood.

I looked at my mostly white chart (I only have the ajna and throat defined) and was certain it spelled doom. No energy to make my brilliant ideas come to life.

There was not the explosion of interest there is now when I discovered this system of self-awareness. Almost no one knew about it. Certainly not the people I trusted as coaches or guides. I found that out while weeping to them on coaching calls, telling them that I was cursed to be a broken weirdo for the rest of my life while waving my chart printout at them over Zoom. Their response was almost unanimous... leave it alone. Don’t let anything make you feel this bad! Don’t let anything tell you that you’re not amazing! They had big hearts and cared and could not figure out why I was so determined to put myself in a box.

Part of me believed they were right while another part of me felt they just didn’t understand. I was right, I was a weirdo and would never function in ‘normal society’. I held on to that belief for quite a while... until I chose to let it go.

For a while I sought out a Human Design reader, but I couldn’t find one that I jived with... they were mostly Generator types (shocker). So I set about learning all I could about the system. Mental Projectors are great at systems... it said so right there in the big red HD book, so I got to work.

And now, years later, I have some thoughts about what I wish someone had told me when I first found out that I was a Mental Projector.

1 Your Authority is not outside of you

It goes by many names; SoundingBoard Authority, Environmental Authority, or just plain Outer Authority.

Though the names sound like it comes from outside of you, it’s not. It comes FROM you. It’s about the frequency of how you feel, how you sound, and how trusted others reflect your words. The language and explanation in the system make it sound like it’s coming from some other place, which feels disempowering. And I get it, I went through some dark nights of the soul over it. But your authority is in no one’s hands but your own.

I don’t have ‘perfect pitch’ but I imagine this operates in much the way. If something is the slightest bit ‘off’ you can hear it; in your words or in how others in your environment respond to your words.

2 Give yourself time to feel it out

We’re not Reflectors, but we do need time to make big decisions and feel out invitations. There’s so much talk about waiting for the invitation and we want to be seen and recognized so badly that we often say YES indiscriminately. Not every invitation is right for us. Take your time. Learn what feels good and what doesn’t. Listen to how you talk about it... if you aren’t resonating as a yes before you begin, it won’t turn out well. Take your time to feel into it.

3 Trust yourself

Those who are told they don’t have an inner authority can develop a skittishness about trusting themselves. They think they have to talk it to death and listen to what others think they should do, instead of listening to themselves. I hereby give you permission (should you require the reminder) that you absolutely CAN trust yourself and your own knowing and intuition. Handing your decisions off to others in your life isn’t healthy for you or for your relationships. It’s truly hazardous.

4 Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t

Just because we don’t have the ‘sacral energy center’ or the battery pack, as I like to call it, doesn’t mean that there are things we cannot do. This is unequivocally false. But what I would say is that the way we go about it is different. It’s not going to be an all-or-nothing, hard-charging, take no prisoners approach. That will lead us straight into burnout over long periods of time. Learning our unique HOW is key.

5 Learn to rest

Our society views the need for rest as weak. This is a shame because there’s actually loads of data suggesting that everyone can benefit from rest, breaks, and even naps. Yes, naps. Learn to rest and recharge. You, Mental Projector, have an incredible capacity to make mountains of progress in the right circumstances, but only if you’re well-rested, nourished, and allow yourself downtime to recharge.

Let me put it to you this way, you can slog along for a week on something in the typical 9-5, incremental way, or you can know yourself, follow your rhythms, and be able to bust through it in a supercharged, mega-efficient burst, and get it done in half the time and then take a day off to recoup. It’s up to you. This may be a bit of an exaggerated example, but it’s closer to true than you might think.

I have plenty more examples, but speaking of rest, I think I need to go nap. I’ve been writing all morning on my latest project; “Mental Projector Survival Guide”.

If you’d like more Mental Projector insights and tips for leaning into your type, and all the wonderful weirdness that we are, sign up here and I’ll let you know when it’s out.

Above all, remember that there is nothing wrong with you. Human Design is an interesting system of insight, but I think it can cause a lot of distress if we don’t realize that it isn’t condemning us to a life of can and cannot. It’s a useful tool if we remember that it’s just a tool.

Thank you so much for being here!

Are you a Mental Projector? Was the helpful? Let me know in the comments!