Many of us have a tradition of setting new year's resolutions right about now. Last year I decided to try something different.

Instead of setting specific goals for the year, I chose a word to focus on — a one-word mantra that encapsulated my vision for the year.

The word was CONSISTENCY.

Maybe you can relate — I have always been really good at starting something new, dreaming big. But following through for the long term is HARD, and I frequently gave up before I reached my goal.

Let’s face it — Goals get boring after a while. Even when you are initially motivated, at some point, you just don’t want to follow through.

So CONSISTENCY became my mantra.

A simple word that brought purpose, vision, and value to my actions each day. A word that anchored me to the person I am striving to become.

Smaller, more specific goals naturally sprang from my mantra.

One example was exercise — I wanted to consistently move my body every day. The previous year I had herniated disc in my back, so exercise was challenging. The doctors said that walking was the best possible exercise for me, so I was committed to walking as much as possible to keep myself in shape while working to heal my back.

In keeping with my mantra, I decided that even if I could only walk to the end of the driveway and back, I was going to try and walk every day CONSISTENTLY.

So even with two back surgeries this last year, I walked over 340 miles in a 9-month period. Short distances really do add up over time!

It’s those small steps consistently taken every day that make the biggest difference in our lives — both literally and figuratively.