I think it can be useful when one puts in perspective that a mile is not some major hurdle but is in fact a 14-20 min walk for the most part. Sometimes breaking it up in one's mind is a helpful thing.
When my 80+ yr old parent trains to walk in half marathons, he uses some mental techniques to get him past the 9-10 mile mark which is where he says he gets stuck. He tries to walk 15-16 min. miles