A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Which step?
Which step is the first step?
Where does the journey begin?
Is it the first step out your front door? What about the steps that got you off your couch and headed to the door? Are they the “first”?
Is it the first step of that morning getting out of bed? How about all the steps back and forth as you packed? Which one of those begins the journey?
Is it the step you took several weeks ago to locate your luggage or start arranging the things you would take with you? Would one of those be the first step of the journey?
Or is it a step at all? Is it the click that put it on your calendar or booked the hotel? Is it the click that began your research several months ago? (“A journey begins with a single click” doesn’t sound nearly pithy enough, does it?)
A journey begins with a myriad of activities. None of them are first, but all of them are “next”. All of them are important.
The journey requires each step to be completed. Each step represents a little more of an investment.
Every step is part of the journey.
But your journey has no formal beginning. It was always there, from the day you were born, perhaps even from the day your ancestors were born.
The aphorism “a journey begins with a single step” is nothing more than an attempt at motivation to take the next step. The journey’s already begun, whether you realize it or not.
Take the step.