3 Steps to Make a Decision with Your Desired Destination Clearly in Mind

Chrystal Evans Hurst Author
Published Oct 26, 2021

At nineteen, the thought of staying in college while raising a baby frightened the daylights out of me. I had no idea how all the jumbled puzzle pieces of my life could settle into a picture that made any sense. It was too much to figure out, and I honestly didn’t feel capable of solving the whole puzzle in one sitting.

But there was something I could do.
There is always something you can do.

I picked up the phone and called an admissions counselor who had welcomed me into the school the previous semester. And I made an appointment to see him.

That was it.

Sure, I later investigated my options for housing and childcare. Sure, I had to eventually work at getting more scholarships, finding a job, and figuring out transportation. But my journey to finishing my degree started with my decision to make a phone call.

I’m not suggesting the decision you need to make will be easy or quick. I’m just telling you that your decision to move toward your girl isn’t activated until you actually do something to set that decision in motion.

A habit of praying fervently may seem unattainable, but you can pray one prayer right now.

The relationship you need to end may threaten to rip your heart out, but you can write down the words you need to say and practice speaking them out loud.

I’m convinced that the enemy of good decision making is the inability or unwillingness to nail desires down to a next step. Desires become decisions when they are connected to an action.

Don’t get stuck at the point of desire simply because you can’t decide what to do. You could spend way too long wishing for change when the only thing standing between you and that change is your willingness to do something—anything—that kickstarts your journey.

Don’t get stuck talking about change either. If you’re not careful, you just might talk yourself out of the very thing God is trying to talk you into.

Yes, I know the struggle. But I’ve also learned the solution. The fastest way to escape analysis paralysis is to keep the main thing the main thing. You have to operate in light of where you hope to end up.

Habakkuk 2:2 says, “Write a vision, and make it plain so that a runner can read it” (CEB).

Based on this biblical principle, let me give you three steps to making a decision with your desired destination clearly in mind.

Step 1: Write It Down

Lee Iacocca once said, “The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.”¹ It’s a proven fact that writing things down makes them more likely to happen. Writing things down is critical and important. No business could run without things being written down. Since your life is more important than any business, treat it that way by writing down the ways in which you want to grow, change, and become the person God wants you to be.

When God gave a vision to Habakkuk, He also told him to write it down. God knows that we are quick to be inspired, but often times slow to take action. When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, he had Moses write them down. In Revelation, when John experienced a vision of heaven, he was told by God to write down the things he saw. God knows we are notorious for getting distracted and forgetting to live continuously with the end in mind.

When you write down the desires of your heart and the destination you hope to reach, you clarify your thoughts and reinforce your intentions for tomorrow based on aspirations you hold today.

Step 2: Remember It

Don’t forget to keep your vision in plain sight. If you write your desires down and stick them in the side pocket of your purse to make friends with forgotten pieces of gum, loose change, or old lipstick, those desires will not be front and center in your mind or heart.

Write them down and put them somewhere you will see them.

We need to be reminded of our intentions. We need to see them. We need a vision of the beautiful tomorrow that belongs to the girl in us, and we need to see this vision every day so we can remember to align our lives now with the girl we intend to be later.

So write down the dream that maybe you’ve forgotten or given up on.

Write down that hope you harbor in your heart.

Post that Scripture with the command you need to follow, the encouragement you need to receive, or the message you need to remember.

And then look at it as often as possible so you never forget your destination.

Step 3: Rehearse It

Habakkuk was told to write the vision and make it plain so somebody else would know about the end game as well.

Something happens when you choose to share your destination with someone else. A friend of mine puts it this way: when you share your vision with someone else, you give it oxygen. And isn’t that what we all need—a little room to breathe and believe that change is possible?

Now, pick something. Don’t stress. Don’t overanalyze. Don’t wait for the perfect time.

Remember, the first key to living with focus is to make decisions that lead to actions—even small ones—that align with your aspirations.

So act. Seal your decision by connecting it with an action.

And know that even if you’re a bit behind the eight ball—either from an indecisive period in your life or a period void of decisions at all—it’s never too late to make a choice that gets you on your way.

Eventually, you will make it too.

And I know that the girl you want to be will be happy to see you.

Chrystal Evans Hurst co-authored the best-selling book, Kingdom Woman, with her father Dr. Tony Evans. She reaches a wide audience speaking at conferences, sharing on her blog, Chrystal's Chronicles, writing for Proverbs 31 Ministries, and by teaching and leading women in her home church. As the COO (Chief Operating Officer) of the Hurst household, she is a dedicated wife to Jessie and mother of five. Chrystal lives just outside of Dallas, Texas.

1. “Lee Iacocca Quotes,” BrainyQuote.com, (n.d.), http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/leeiacocca149249.html. Accessed November 2016.

Publication date: August 10, 2017