I prefer even numbers. It’s probably an OCD tendency of mine but I find myself feeling a little relieved when the calendar cooperates with me. Today, 8/8/26, happens to be an even day in an even month of an even year. Beautiful.

Some of us also tend to like round numbers: 5, 10, 20, 50, etc. 

Dr. Art Markman, from the University of Texas at Austin, explores analogical reasoning, categorization, decision making, motivation, and innovation.

I’m summarizing here but he basically says there are two factors that combine to create this preference for round numbers. The first is familiarity… and a second factor is landmarks. We love to use round numbers and anniversaries as times to celebrate achievements and evaluate progress. 

At the start of any venture, whether it is a business or a relationship, there is lots of excitement. 

After a while, though, the excitement dies down, and your actions become routine. So landmarks have two benefits. First, they provide an opportunity to celebrate a real accomplishment. That celebration can inject energy and excitement to liven up the daily routine. And second, landmarks create a time to analyze your progress. Are you happy with your life, business, or relationship after x amount of months or years or milestones? Are there things you would like to change?  

Those round numbers serve as a chance to be a bit more mindful of the things in life that have become mindless.

Lily Phillips, at SmartStarts, says it this way: Round numbers give structure to the abstract flow of time and achievement. They simplify complexity, helping our brains measure progress and find motivation. When we hit a milestone, whether it’s a 10th anniversary or a 100th workout, it satisfies both logic and emotion.

Her point is that understanding this bias can help our brains harness things more intentionally: We can set goals that feel symbolically complete AND at the same time, we can avoid letting arbitrary numbers define success. After all, the difference between 99 and 100 is just one.

Gratitude’s biggest enemy is familiarity.

The very thing that makes us love round numbers…is also the thing that makes us stop appreciating what we already have.

That’s fascinating.

The healthy body.

The freedom.

The job.

The testimony.

The friends.

The home.

The spouse.

The children.

The routine.

The ordinary Saturday.

The brain likes what’s familiar. And yet familiarity also makes us stop seeing it. Landmarks are one of the ways we teach ourselves to see familiar things with fresh eyes.

But we don’t need a birthday ending in zero or a milestone streak or anniversary or a round number. 

We can just Borrow a Landmark like today, 8/8, and let it remind us to notice something we’ve stopped noticing.

We can look at it as if it were new.

• What did we once pray for that we now take for granted?
• What would we miss immediately if it were gone?
• What accomplishment or goal did we reach that once felt impossible? 
• What has quietly become just part of the background of our life?
• What in our current situation deserves a fresh look?

“My kitchen is so small…” might become “I can’t believe I have a kitchen that’s mine.”

“My husband leaves his socks everywhere…” might become “I would miss him so much if he was gone.”

“Work has become so routine…” might become “I know how to do so many things that once intimidated me.”

“Another Saturday running errands…” might become “I’ve been given another Saturday to run errands.”

Last week I happened to hit one of my own landmarks, and it was a round number: 

my 250th consecutive weekly blog post.

It gave me a chance to pause and consciously notice a few things:

• I still enjoy the challenge and the discipline of this weekly practice.
• I almost never know which posts will resonate. In fact, I’m often wrong!
• Writing this blog has become one of the most consistent ways I keep a promise to myself.
• I’m incredibly grateful for the handful of kind readers who have shown up week after week.

I can’t wait to hear what landmark you borrowed this week and what looks a little different when you choose to see it with fresh eyes. And if you need help with it, I’m still your gal. 

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PS If you liked this post – or any others, I’d love you to pass me and my work on to a friend.  They can find out much more about me here if they’re interested!