How Do You Choose?: A Human Design Guide to What's Best for You at Work, in Love, and in Life – Unlock Your Potential Through Type, Strategy, and Authority

by Erin Claire Jones

Do you know what career you’re really meant to pursue? Can you identify the relationships you should really be investing in? Are you living your life to the fullest? Human Design is a mystical personality assessment and spiritual guide that uses NASA data, astrology, and Eastern philosophy to generate mind-blowingly accurate insights into how you uniquely thrive at work, in love, and in your journey of personal growth and beyond.

In How Do You Choose?, world-renowned Human Design coach and educator Erin Claire Jones offers a roadmap to using this cosmic system as a practical tool for transformation.

Written as an easy-to-understand guide, Jones shares relatable stories from her own life, case studies from her work with thousands of clients, examples of how influential figures like Nelson Mandela, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Maya Angelou and more have used their Human Design gifts to change the world, actionable tips for immediate transformation, and more than a hundred journaling prompts for self-discovery.

After reading, you will

The professional roles you’re designed to pursue The relationship dynamics that make you feel most seenYour most potent communication strategies with colleagues, family, and friendsThe gifts you bring to a team and how you can be most effectiveThe way you are uniquely designed to make decisions of all kindsAlong the way, you will also become fluent in the language of Human Design as you dive into the fundamentals of Type, Strategy, and Authority, and discover how these elements can influence every decision you make.

Whether you want to advance your career, motivate others to change, take creative risks, find deeper connections, build better habits, start a new chapter, or simply create more happiness in your life and relationships, How Do You Choose? offers you a resource for finding your purpose, shifting your mindset, and unlocking your full potential.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Astrology, Audiobook, Education, Relationships

260 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 13, 2025

About the author

Erin Claire Jones is one of the world’s leading experts in Human Design. Through her coaching, content, and digital products, she has empowered hundreds of thousands of people to overcome their biggest obstacles and find their flow at work, in love, and in life. Her personalized guides have been purchased by customers in over 160 countries. She has spoken on stages across the world, and her work has been featured in Forbes, Elle, The Sunday Times, Vogue, Allure, Nylon and more.

Reviews

[Daniela Simone]

this was such a refreshing and accessible approach to human design. I honestly have always avoided HD until now — and this was the perfect introduction. I just wish there was *more* of this book frankly. it breezed by (I devoured it) in the best way possible

I found myself reading pages out loud to my partner and having a shared experience over them

thank you for the gifted copy Erin! this book is a gift

[Maren Childs]

excellent intro to Human design, easy to read with great stories to emphasize the different types, strategies and authorities. journaling questions as well as helpful tips to help you understand yourself better. love it

[kate]

An easy to understand book on human design. After hearing about human design from a few different sources, I wanted to get a little more information. This was an approachable guide and I appreciated the key takeaways, relatable examples, and journal prompts. Overall, a quick and concise read that satisfied my curiosity.

[Erica]

***Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced reading copy to review ***
If you're new to Human Design, this is a great book! Erin Claire Jones outlines only three key parts of Human Design and makes them so accessible and practical to apply to everyday life, work, and relationships. I learned so much. This isn't a textbook on all the parts of Human Design, it covers just Type, Strategy, and Authority, which are the really the pieces that are most actionable and where you can start to notice big shifts just by paying attention. Most Human Design books give you little pieces of a lot of the chart, and this book goes into depth just around these three parts. The preview copy I had didn't have any Human Design charts or pieces, just text which I think makes it more accessible to readers who are curious about Human Design but are immediately intimidated by the traditional Human Design charts and terminology. This book dives into such practical applications and real-life examples it really makes these parts of system come alive.

I studied with Erin Claire Jones and I love her approach to Human Design. It's so practical and so down-to-earth. She makes a complex system feel so intuitive. This is a book that will be my new favorite to recommend to my clients.

[Erin Ballinger]

Netgalley: thank you for the chance to read this!
For reference: I am a Manifestor, "Initiate and Inform", and an Emotional authority.
I thought this was such a great introduction to human design. I've read/reviewed mine before, but this was a really clear and concise view of the concept and keeping it just to type, strategy, and authority makes it really simple. I also really liked the way the author broke down what these types really mean: how to action them, how to understand them, how to practice them. Theres an accessibility here thats really fantastic.
I also really liked the little snips of celebrities or real stories who make up your design: it was great to get some insight to people who I knew I aligned with, but to see it on another scale.

If you enjoy Human Design: this is a really nice book and review. If you're new to Human Design, I think this might be one of the most approachable versions I've seen to date. I will say, as with many books like this (think astrology, or meyer's briggs, or ennegram), I skimmed all the other 'types' and only focused on my own, which means more than 2/3 of the book doesn't apply to me.

[Sarah Battiste]

This was a very good guide. I listened on audio and decided it was probably better to buy the book to look back and reference and also once you’re family/friends do their guide to determine their blueprint to go back and refer.

I felt the people referenced was spot on and my blueprint aligned with a ton of things I have been understanding about myself. A great starter guide, and for sure would need expansion for implementation further.

[Sepideh Sabati]

A wonderful and comprehensive book on the basics of human design ! Erin Claire offers insights into HD to help understand the foundations and how to apply it in your life to live more aligned with your authentic self. I loved how easy this book was to read and the examples given to better understand its practical application.

[Chloé Mayer]

Approachable, clear, powerful. Loved this! Read it in an evening (skipping the parts not relevant to my design, but will be glad to go back and read the sections on other designs of my friends and family.)

[Clothilde]

very actionable steps for every piece of your human design, can't wait to go read about my loved ones' types as well!

[Julia]

Great book for understanding the basics of Human Design!

[Morgan Erickson]

Audiobook

[Amy]

pretty interesting concept and all of it was spot on

“You are not me and I am not you. That one sentence can help save so many of us time and time again.”

[Isabelle C-N]

human design is a really cool concept I’m ready to #transform my life

[Chloe]

2.5 - was ready to make human design my new personality, alas was underwhelmed

[Ayana]

A wonderful introduction to the essentials of Human Design! As someone who has been studying this system for nearly a decade, it was lovely to still receive new insights and perspectives. That said, I believe there could’ve been more delineation between Generators and Manifesting Generators. Specifically, when working with MGs, they usually experience the significant empowerment when supported to not just respond but also inform relevant parties of their choices, when applicable. MGs have traits of both Generators AND Manifestors, so I don’t understand why the latter was so ignored. In any case, I still appreciate Erin Claire Jones’ warm and inspiring approach to Human Design and hope she publishes more on the finer details, such as channels and gates, in the future.

[maria]

not gonna lie, i feel like the synopsis on this was a bit misleading for what this book *really* is.

i first found this while exploring a public library, so you can imagine the excitement i picked this up with, in hopes of self-reflecting and gaining more clarity on who i am (i was expecting renee brown type book), my traits, and how to move forwards.

so when i found out it was some sort of personality type book, just to tell me things about myself that i already knew, i found it quite underwhelming.

the only highlight from this is the career alignment segment and the journal prompts, which were the only part that really forced me to self-reflect. otherwise... not the read i was expecting, very underwhelming.

[Nathalia Vinasco]

4.5

[Periplus Bookshop]

Dalam dunia yang penuh pilihan, memilih jalan yang tepat untuk hidup, pekerjaan, dan hubungan bisa menjadi hal yang membingungkan. Panduan ini memberikan wawasan yang mendalam tentang bagaimana menemukan keputusan yang paling sesuai dengan diri kita, baik di tempat kerja, dalam hubungan pribadi, maupun dalam kehidupan secara keseluruhan.

Dengan pendekatan berbasis human design, How Do You Choose membantu pembaca memahami kekuatan dan kelemahan masing-masing individu, serta bagaimana hal tersebut dapat mempengaruhi pilihan-pilihan yang diambil. Melalui analisis yang mendalam dan alat praktis, pembaca akan belajar untuk mengenali pola-pola dalam hidup mereka dan bagaimana memanfaatkannya untuk membuat keputusan yang lebih baik. Buku ini cocok untuk mereka yang ingin memperbaiki kualitas hidup dengan lebih sadar, baik dalam hal karier, hubungan, atau kehidupan pribadi. Individu yang tertarik pada perkembangan diri, pencarian jati diri, serta pemahaman tentang kepribadian akan merasa terbantu dengan pengetahuan yang ditawarkan. Pembaca yang berfokus pada perubahan positif dalam hidup mereka dan mereka yang merasa bingung dalam mengambil keputusan besar akan sangat diuntungkan dari panduan ini. Buku ini menyediakan cara untuk lebih memahami diri sendiri dan memilih jalur yang paling sesuai dengan siapa diri kita sebenarnya, buku ini adalah alat yang sangat berharga. Dengan teori human design sebagai dasar, buku ini mengajak pembaca untuk lebih berani menghadapi kehidupan dengan keputusan yang lebih autentik. https://blog.periplus.com/2025/07/07/...

[Erin]

I had high hopes for this book, having followed Erin Claire Jones on Instagram. But she lost me on page 3 with this gem:

"As the legend goes, in 1987, Alan Krakower, a middle-aged Canadian advertising executive who had uprooted his life and moved to Ibiza, was walking home one evening when he heard a voice that whispered, "It's time to work." Over the following eight days, he conceived of the Human Design system and called it the "science of differentiation." Soon after, he changed his name to Ra Uru Hu and shared his teachings far and wide until his untimely death in 2011."

I tried to look past this corny, incredibly lame origin story, but the content of the book is very thin. Once you identify your human design profile, there are only about 5 pages per chapter for you to read, so you're done within about 30 minutes. And did I feel like any of it really applies to me? Not much more than reading a horoscope.

[Amie Mak]

How do You Choose? breaks down the different aspects of human design and teaches you how to follow your human design in work and relationships. This is not an introduction to human design and it is helpful to go into it with a base line knowledge of what it is.

I really enjoyed the overall structure of the book. By covering Type, Strategy, and Authority, it provides a wonderfully holistic look at how you manage your energy, create opportunities, and make aligned decisions. However, I did feel the client examples and journal prompts were a bit superficial. They felt somewhat unnecessary and didn’t resonate with me, but others may find them useful.

The Verdict:
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Read if you like: learning more about human design and exploring different personality types.

[Carissa]

I am very new to human design and actually bought this book the same day I learned Human Design was even a thing. Erin was speaking on a podcast about it and my body lit up! I was very excited to dive into it but this book weirdly made me less excited about it the more I read? Once I got to the Authorities, I honestly just wanted to get through the book because it all felt repetitive and my eyes were glazing over. I am still intrigued by human design. I just didn’t particularly enjoy learning about it in this book. Not saying this is a bad book, but it didn’t do it for me personally.

[Chelsea]

A simple, practical, micro-introduction to Human Design. There is so much more to it, which can make it overwhelming, but understanding your type, and leaning into your strategy and authority is enough to make a positive difference in one’s life.

If you’re easily overwhelmed with complex systems, this book is a great entry point. Just know there are only three relevant chapters for each person, so knowing the design of the most important people in your life will make it more useful.

[Amber Rae]

This book is a gift. If you've ever been curious about who you truly are and how you're designed to move through the world, this is your guide. With clarity and depth, Erin Claire Jones illuminates the wisdom of Human Design, helping you unlock your innate strengths, release what's not yours to carry, and step into a life of ease and alignment. Erin’s wisdom has changed my life, and I’m certain it can change yours, too.

[Jen Loong-Goodwin]

Big fan of the author from when she launched customized blueprints

Found it hard to read attributes that weren’t my own, as didn’t feel as much relevance, even tho the author suggested early in to think of a few ppl

Read a little bit like a textbook at times, maybe it was too succinct? And lacked having more narratives

[Stacey]

I feel like there are a lot of helpful insights, but I had a hard time seeing past the subtle nuances between different design qualities. I can see myself picking this book up randomly in the future but it really didn’t lend itself well to just reading straight through.

[Lilly Randolph]

Mehhh I paid pretty close attention to the parts that discussed described aspects of my personality and what I need to make decisions (bc lord knows I can’t), and I want to try some of the provided journal prompts, but I had a hard time getting through the rest of it.

[Justine Reed]

My first foray into Human Design. Maybe because I was listening to the audio rather than reading this, but I found it both too light and also heavily repetitive. Almost every section felt the same and I found myself choosing another book 🤷‍♀️🤓

[Jared Matthew]

This book transformed the way I think about myself and the people in my life. I loved every second of it. As someone who is skeptical of all things woo woo, this came across as grounded, practical, and inspiring. I'm excited to integrate these concepts into my life!!!!

[Amber Pachla]

This book is SO handy & insightful when learning Human Design. I love the sub categories, especially the “at work” sections regarding using your Authority & Strategy.
ECJ is a trail blazer & this book shows it. Love !

[Allison Mcgee]

being a human is so fascinating and learning about so many different aspects of that is fucking rad