I spent basically my whole life in America, and had no desire to travel or be anywhere else.

But one day I was thinking about growing older, and how people get stuck in their ways as they age.

I thought what a learning experience it would be to move somewhere far away — somewhere that surprises me every day.

Doing that often would be great for my brain.

The more I wrote about it in my journal, the more I felt it matched my values.

So, out of curiosity, I looked up the price of a flight to London.

I picked a random departure date four months away, and a return date six months after that.

It was only $400 round trip — a crazy sale price too good to miss.

So without hesitation, I typed in my credit card and booked it.

It took a few seconds to realize what I’d done.

I just committed to moving to London for six months.

Whoa.

Four years later, I was living in Singapore, had a baby with a woman from India, and moved to New Zealand to raise him.

I’m a citizen of three countries now, and deeply happy with my life.

I think of the impact of impulsively booking that flight.

On the other hand, there were many times where I thought I wanted something — in theory — then took the first step, and realized I was wrong.

Taking action tests your thought in reality.

Here’s a good rule from experience:

If you’re considering something destructive — that would hurt someone or yourself — be very reluctant, keeping all other options in mind for some time.

But for anything else, take the first step immediately, without hesitation.

Start momentum.