#authoritybias

There’s something I see happening everywhere right now, and I cannot ignore it. People are waiting. Waiting for the expert, waiting for the study, waiting for the protocol, waiting for someone—anyone—to tell them what the “right” answer is. And in the meantime, they stay stuck, second-guessing themselves, circling the same decisions over and over again, feeling like clarity is always just out of reach. I believe this is one of the most damaging patterns we’ve quietly accepted as normal, because the longer you wait for someone else to confirm what’s right for you, the further you drift away from your own ability to recognize it. And that ability was never supposed to be outsourced.

When Did You Stop Trusting Yourself?

Most people don’t consciously decide to stop trusting themselves—it happens gradually, almost unnoticed. You follow advice that doesn’t feel quite right, but you override that feeling because someone else seems more certain. You ignore signals from your body because you’ve been told there’s a “correct” way to respond. You try something that makes things worse, and instead of questioning the guidance, you assume you must be doing something wrong. Over time, that inner voice doesn’t disappear, but it does get quieter, pushed aside by repetition and doubt. I have seen how easily people disconnect from themselves when they’re taught that authority always lives outside of them, and once that disconnection sets in, even the simplest decisions can start to feel heavy and uncertain.

Why External Authority Feels Safer

There’s a reason this pattern feels so comforting, even when it isn’t serving you. When someone else gives you the answer, you don’t have to carry the weight of making the decision. There’s no internal debate, no sitting with uncertainty, no fear of getting it wrong—you simply follow the instruction and move forward. But what most people don’t realize is that outsourcing your decisions doesn’t remove risk—it just transfers control, and the more often you do that, the harder it becomes to hear your own instincts when they try to speak up. This is exactly why so many people feel trapped in cycles of trying everything and still not getting anywhere. If that feels familiar, it’s worth looking at this deeper layer: why you feel stuck no matter what you try. Because it’s not always about needing better answers—it’s often about rebuilding the ability to recognize your own.

The Cost of Waiting for the “Right” Answer

Waiting can feel responsible, even wise, but over time it often turns into something else entirely. It becomes hesitation, then delay, then avoidance. You hold back from acting because you’re still looking for confirmation, still hoping for certainty, still trying to eliminate all doubt before you move. But life doesn’t work that way, and I refuse to accept that you need constant external validation to make decisions about your own life. That belief keeps people dependent, keeps them searching endlessly, and keeps them disconnected from the very signals that could guide them forward. The longer you wait, the less you trust yourself, and the less you trust yourself, the longer you wait—it becomes a loop that quietly reinforces itself.

How You Start Rebuilding Self-Trust

Rebuilding self-trust doesn’t happen all at once, and it doesn’t come from finding the perfect answer—it comes from reconnecting with your own awareness in small, consistent ways. Start by noticing what feels off, even if you can’t logically explain it yet. Pay attention to moments when something sounds right on paper but doesn’t sit right in your body. Those signals matter more than most people have been taught to believe. Your body is constantly communicating with you—the question is whether you’re listening or overriding it. If you need help reconnecting with that internal feedback, this is a powerful place to begin: your body is talking—are you listening? You don’t rebuild trust by waiting for certainty—you rebuild it by making small decisions, paying attention to the outcome, and learning from the experience. Over time, that process restores something most people don’t even realize they’ve lost: clarity that comes from within, not from outside.

With love and truth, —Donna 💚

Sources & Further Reading

1. Why You Don’t Trust Yourself When It Matters Most (2025) https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/total-self-trust/202512/why-you-dont-trust-yourself-when-it-matters-most

2. Cognitive Bias and Decision-Making (2023) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10071311/

3. Authority Bias Explained – The Decision Lab (2024) https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/authority-bias

4. Authority Bias and Expert Influence in Decision-Making (2025) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825009813

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