The Role of Projectors in Human Design - The Self Wellness Project

Projectors are the advisors of the world

Projectors are the guides, managers, advisors, and consultants of the world. You see improvements, corrections, and better ways to do things that other people don’t. You tap into your potential when you show or guide others on how to be more efficient and productive thanks to your ability to deeply understand and see them.

You see things so clearly and you love to help others and give them advice. You thrive where you are in environments where others listen and appreciate what you have to share. Projectors are rare and operate differently to most people around them, often having lower energy and tiring easily.

You have a real talent for seeing how to improve things and make them more efficient, usually in a niche area. You are always coming up with suggestions or offering ideas on how to make things better. But mental energy is hard work, and you tire easily. You often feel like you have less energy than others.

Famous Projectors in Human Design

Obama, Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana, Marie Kondo, Woody Allen, Marilyn Monroe, Abraham Lincoln, Angela Merkel, Taylor Swift.

Projector Strengths & Gifts

You often see how to improve or do things better. It seems so obvious to you, you might not even realize it’s a talent.
Projectors love to give advice. They feel deep satisfaction when someone listens and appreciates their help or ideas.
Projectors see deeply into people, systems, or projects and understand what’s not working and how to improve it. They are natural guides, teachers, specialists, and consultants.
Each Projector typically has a niche or specialty area that really interests them or comes easily; this is your success area.
Projectors usually have less energy than others. It’s important they see the value of their advice, not long working hours.

Projector Challenges

The main problem for Projectors is that today’s society is active and equates success to working hard. This environment tires Projectors. Many Projectors feel guilty to take the rest or alone time they crave (which is a lot). They often feel pulled to retreat, sometimes to a dark or cozy space.
When Projectors ignore rest, their body gets sick and forces them to stop. Common complaints are exhaustion, stomach problems, cold-like symptoms, headaches, or other symptoms that disappear once they get adequate rest.
You especially need downtime to reset your mental energy. When you start to feel cloudy, confused or cranky, alone time clears your mind, resets your happiness, and brings any insights you need.

Projector Energy Type: Characteristics

You are designed to advise and guide others. You see so clearly how to do things better or be more efficient in almost everything around you. It seems so obvious to you, you might not even realize it’s your talent.

Your gifts lie in working smarter, not harder. Lots of downtime is needed for Projectors to rest their minds and get clarity for more deep insights. Projectors often need more rest than others. Projectors easily burn out because they try to keep up with everyone else, even when their body craves rest and to be alone.

Projectors are natural guides, specialists, consultants, coaches, therapists and more. They can see deeply into people, systems, and projects and know what’s not working and how to improve it. They can bring out the best potential in any person, project, or situation, and see new and better ways to do things.

Each Projector typically has their own special ability. You may have a focus or niche that deeply sparks your interest or comes really easy to you. What do you see so clearly about how to change and improve something?

Projector Challenges & Conditioning

It is said that Projectors are not here to work; they are here to think, see, guide, organize others, and be rewarded for it. It’s important not to put worth on the hours worked but rather the advice and value you bring.

Many Projectors identify with tiring quickly but also feel guilty to take the amount of rest or alone time they actually crave (which is a lot). They ignore this deep want until they feel close to breaking point inside.

One of the hardest problems for Projectors is that today’s society equates success to always being active and working hard. This environment is damaging for Projectors, who easily burn out. When Projectors ignore this call for rest, their body gets sick so they are forced to stop. Common complaints among Projectors are stomach problems, cold-like symptoms, headaches, or other unexplained symptoms that simply disappear once they get rest.

That’s why it’s important for Projectors not to feel lazy or beat themselves up if they need to retreat, from work and family alike.

You especially need downtime for resetting your mental energy. When you start to feel cloudy or confused, alone time clears your mind. This rest is what inspires more valuable insights, clarity, solutions, and guidance you are meant to share.

How Projectors Make Decisions

> Strategy: Wait for the Invitation

Your ‘strategy’ guides you to make better decisions and know when to commit. To understand if you should share your advice or if a situation will benefit you, it is better that someone seeks out your particular style, skills, or type of advice or approach.

You love to share your ideas and tips to help make things better. Yet, sometimes people feel offended when you offer your advice or reject your ideas, which hurts you. To make sure your insight is appreciated, it is better to wait until someone invites you or asks for your advice, then it doesn’t feel like you are pointing out what is wrong but helping them.
Your insight lands better when someone invites you or confirms they want to hear it. This might be someone asking for your advice or you asking if you can share your opinion.
It’s important to check in with ongoing projects, friendships, or relationships. Someone might stop wanting your advice. If you feel tension, hurt, or bitterness creep in somewhere, check if you’ve crossed any boundaries or if it is time to move on.
You only waste energy if someone doesn’t appreciate your insights; they might reject what you say or feel criticized. You do not need an invite for decisions that only affect you.

To understand if you will thrive in a situation or environment, make sure you are invited or welcomed into it, if it involves other people. Otherwise, in your own time, follow what feels right for you and build up skills in things that naturally interest you.

You easily see how to improve people, situations, products, and projects. Of course, you want to share these insights to help people! However, some people may not appreciate hearing these ‘improvements’. They may not be ready to hear it, or it can feel like criticism.

But when someone recognizes and chases your particular talent or perspective, they will invite you to collaborate or share your input. This will guarantee that your advice will be appreciated.

> Inner Authority: What Type of Projector am I?

Your complete decision-making process combines your Strategy + Inner Authority (read more here).

There are several different types of projectors, depending on what is their dominant decision-making energy center. Below are the different types of inner authority for Projectors.

Emotional Projector: you need time to make decisions so you can make sure it still feels right throughout your various emotional moods.
Splenic Projector: Their intuition confirms in the moment whether something feels right or wrong for them.
Ego Projector: You should make decisions based on what you believe in and your heart feels called towards.
Self-Projected Projector: You need to talk your decisions out and see if they align with your identity and values.
Mental Projector: You need to talk your decisions out to understand what you think about it.

– Not-Self (Negative Reaction): Bitterness

The ‘not-self’ is how your body reacts when something is wrong for you. Bitterness is your body’s signal that you are committing your energy to the wrong people and situations, where you don’t feel recognized or appreciated. Bitterness can also show up as feeling unheard, unseen, resentful, or depleted of energy.

When you are in the wrong environments, places, situations, or with the wrong people, bitterness and inner resentment may arise. It might also feel like your advice or insights are rejected, not appreciated, or under-valued. These signals mean you are not thriving or something needs to change.
When someone rejects or doesn’t value your good advice, this makes you feel unappreciated, hurt, or bitter. This might spark bitter thoughts, internal resentment, or feelings of being taken advantage of, not getting proper recognition or respect, or not being heard or listened to.

You see clearly how to help people, you feel unvalued or unappreciated when someone rejects your good advice or doesn’t want to listen to what you say.

Bitterness might feel like:

internal resentment or negative thoughts about a situation or person
that someone is taking advantage of you or not giving you proper recognition
that you are not being heard or that your gifts aren’t being appreciated or ‘seen.’

Your advice lands better when someone invites or confirms that they want you to share. This might be them asking for your perspective or you asking if they are open to hear your advice.

Signature (Positive Reaction): Success

Your ‘signature’ is what you feel when something is right for you. Your happiest state is when you are successful in helping others and you achieve success as a result.

When a situation or person is right for you, you will feel an inner sense of success. You feel listened to and recognized by them, that your advice is appreciated, and that they see how much you can help them.
It is deeply fulfilling when your advice is adopted and you successfully improve something or someone.
Your love language is being appreciated for everything you say and do. You are often driven by your need for recognition and your love of success.

You see how to improve things so clearly that you want to share it with everyone. When your advice is respected and seen as profound or important, a Projector feels great satisfaction about themselves. Recognition for these insights and helping others improve really fulfills a Projector.

You are particularly driven by a deep desire to achieve success. You get a similar warm, fuzzy feeling when someone listens to your advice and you are successful at making something better as a result.

When you are in the right environments, places and opportunities, you will feel useful and successful because your advice is being adopted and improving others. You feel appreciated, heard, and seen for your wise insights and unique perspective.

It’s important to check in regularly that you still feel fulfillment in an ongoing project, friendship, or even relationship. If an invitation expires or someone stops appreciating you, you might start to feel tension, hurt, or bitterness creep back into your thoughts and life. See where you might be approaching into topics or crossing boundaries you may not have an invitation for.

Projectors in Relationships & Love

Be open to receiving comments from your partner, family or friends on how or what advice they want to receive; you can then create your own communication flows with them.
Projectors love recognition; a relationship works better when your partner listens and even seeks out your advice or guidance. Helping others and feeling appreciated is like a love language for you.
Invitations can expire, even during a conversation. A friend may invite you to offer advice on their work life but may shut down if you try to offer relationship advice.
Don’t fear saying no if you’re tired. It can be better not to show up than project poor energy or get sick.
As a Projector, a relationship may work better if you are ‘chased’ or ‘invited’ out, rather than chasing someone.

Projectors in Work & Careers

Try not to feel pressure to fill your rest time by appearing busy. Projectors have bursts of energy and then need rest. Flexible and independent work schedules work well; this may require redefining what a work day looks like but don’t worry about hours – your input can have the same value in half the time.
Choose partnerships and companies where you feel that your voice would be valuable and appreciated. You also tend to like jobs with close communication. To preserve energy, try to delegate tasks that don’t use your genius input or insight.
You receive clarity, solutions, and your best insights when you have time to retreat, ponder, and rest. If you’re struggling over an issue, find time in your day for silence.